The California city of San Clemente will officially allow Customs and Border Patrol to begin a controversial new surveillance project within its city limits. The plan, which involves installing cameras on a hill to overlook the Orange County city and its famous coastline, is moving ahead despite a torrent of pushback from locals, including many who attended a fiery, hours-long San Clemente City Council meeting on Jan. 20.
Under the new agreement, which passed 3-1 in a city council vote (with one member abstaining), San Clemente will allow CBP to install a collection of cameras to monitor for incoming panga boats off the coast. These narrow skiffs have reportedly been used in the past to deliver immigrants and occasionally contraband items to the shore quickly from Mexico. While the boats are fast, small and nimble, they can also be dangerous for those onboard; last November, four people were killed and five were rescued when a panga-style boat capsized in the waters off San Diego.
San Clemente, the southernmost city in Orange County, has agreed to lease the land to CBP for at least five years to more closely surveil the coastline and deter future panga boat arrivals. The approved lease, once signed by all parties, runs for five years, with five-year renewals thereafter for a total of 20 years. CBP will, surprisingly, only pay the city a one-time $10 fee for the land use, and will pay for any electricity or maintenance needs, but San Clemente will have no oversight on the video data collected or its use…