Arizona congressman presses for answers about broken border cameras

PHOENIX — An Arizona congressman wants to know why there are around 150 broken surveillance systems along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Rep. Greg Stanton, a Democrat, responded after a leaked memo from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) revealed the scope of the technological issues.

Nearly one-third of Border Patrol’s remote video surveillance systems are inoperable, according to NBC News.

The systems help the Border Patrol remotely monitor large areas across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Stanton sent a letter on Thursday to the Federal Aviation Administration demanding answers for the border issues.

The reason why he reached to the FAA is because NBC News said that agency has had internal problems meeting the Border Patrol’s needs.

To get answers, Stanton asked a series of questions, such as how many cameras are affected and when the cameras will be fully functional.

What did letter on broken surveillance systems say?

He also asked the FAA to explain what additional resources it needs to ensure border technology can be fixed in a timely manner.

On top of that, he inquired about communications between the FAA and CBP in regard to the cameras.

He also asked authorities to explain why the surveillance systems are broken or malfunctioning.

Lastly, Stanton harshly critiqued authorities for not taking more action on the pervasiveness of broken surveillance systems along the border.

“It is unacceptable that this technology Border Patrol relies on to secure the border and stop the flow of illegal narcotics into our country sits unused,” Stanton said in the letter.