Feds Conditionally Accept Virtual Fence In Southern Ariz.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff made it official Friday- the government has conditionally accepted a high-tech virtual fence in southern Arizona aimed at detecting and intercepting illegal entries into the country.

Chertoff said the Border Patrol will begin a 45-day trial use of a virtual fence made of nine tall towers strung across 28 miles near Sasabe southwest of Tucson.

The trial will test the efficiency of the towers, packed with an array of sensors, radar and cameras.

The government has paid contractor Boeing Co. about $16 million of its $20 million pricetag.

Software glitches delayed operation for nearly six months.

Chertoff told reporters in Washington the virtual fence will give the Border Patrol better visibility and ability to respond to entries than it has currently, but that the system can and will be improved.

In addition to the virtual fence, Chertoff said plans call for most of the Arizona border to have a mix of pedestrian or vehicle fencing.

Plans call for about 670 miles of such barriers covering 90 to 95 percent of the border from the Pacific Ocean to the New Mexico-Texas border by the end of 2008, he said - assuming Congress appropriates money for all the construction.

Chertoff also said letters are being sent to landowners along 225 noncontiguous miles stretching from California to Texas that they have 30 days to give the government permission to access their properties to assess whether it's possible to build fencing on their lands.

Those not agreeing to such access within 30 days will face court action, possibly including eminent domain proceedings, Chertoff said.

Most of those who have not complied are in Texas, he added.