Border Patrol Turns on Lights to Stop Crossings
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SAN DIEGO — Border Patrol agents flipped the switch Thursday night on 3 1/2 miles of new lights designed to help halt illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The high-powered lights are part of a wave of new tactics, including a 14-mile steel border fence, more agents and high-tech equipment such as motion sensors and night vision video cameras.
In El Paso, agents have formed a blockade along the Rio Grande to prevent entries, but Border Patrol sector chief Gustavo de la Vina has called that impractical in San Diego because of rough terrain.
The new lights stretch from the busy San Ysidro border traffic crossing along the Tijuana River toward the Pacific Ocean, passing through rugged canyons and valleys.
About one mile of lights previously had been installed along the river levee.
The lights cost $470,000, the Border Patrol said. They were installed by Army reserve engineers.
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