SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (Border Report) – The City of Sunland Park is acquiring drones so its fire and police departments can more effectively rescue stranded migrants and hikers on Mount Cristo Rey and individuals struggling in the Rio Grande.
The drones also will help police ensure children at public schools are safe whenever incursions by groups of people are reported – as has often happened in this border community during migrant surges in the past few years.
Border Report Live: How the border shapes US politics, Mexico relations
“We get a lot of people, obviously immigrants coming across NM 273 (McNutt Road) trying to either run or hide, and if they do they go toward the river, toward areas that are vegetated. It’s very difficult for us to have line-of-sight,” said City Manager Mario Juarez-Infante. “And sometimes they try to assimilate with the schools, so that’s the advantage of having the drones.”
Juarez-Infante expects the drones will be primarily used to save lives and to ensure that children are safe inside their campus. The city is spending an initial $6,000 on three drones and plans to deploy them before the end of the year.