NOGALES, ARIZ. (KGUN) — U.S. Border Patrol agents are keeping up with the ever-growing developments of technology by using drones to monitor the border wall.
Border Patrol agents are given a birds-eye view of one of the busiest pedestrian ports of entry from Mexico.
Jon Thompson has been a border patrol agent for 15 years and explains, “There's no place they could hide from the drone; we can see every angle.”
Thompson explains their goals, "you fly and try to find someone, and the second thing you do is try to paint a picture for the agents on the ground so they know what you’re looking at and get them where you’re looking.”
Gabriel Rojas is a Supervisory Border Patrol agent at the Nogales station and says the drones are used not only to search for "subjects or suspects but also for looking for someone who can be in our need for help.”
Before the use of drones, Rojas says agents could’ve been walking into an area— blindly— but now, “We have a drone in the sky already seeing those suspects on the ground before the agents get there, right. So, they’re able to relay the information to the agents and say they’re not armed or they are armed.”
There are boundaries that the drones need to stay within. “The systems actually have maps on them, so it’ll show where the aircraft is and where the border is so they know they can set a limit to make sure they don’t cross beyond that border," Rojas explains.
Rojas also says that every agent who flies a drone has taken a test with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to obtain their Part 107 license.
Thompson says that of the two drones shown, the smaller one can go up to 30 mph.
It's something that is hard to forget when it makes a difference: “The other day one had crossed and I flew my drone close and they could hear it and they went back to Mexico," Thomspon says.
The drones are not able to cross into Mexico.
Rojas is excited to see how the growth of technology will impact them, “As technology gets better, efficiencies get better.”
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Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.
