http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2016/11/20/report-outgoing-president-shuts-border-aerial-surveillance-program/Bob Price | 20 Nov 2016
In the closing days of the Obama Administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has shut down a critical Border aerial surveillance program.
DHS officials quietly shutdown the military aerial support program known as Operation Phalanx, Watchdog.org reported. The program was created by President Obama in 2010 to provide National Guard resources to monitor drug smuggling operations and illegal border crossings by immigrants and human smugglers.
Despite the fact that the program was fully funded for FY 2017 by Congress, the DHS began scaling back the program in January, Breitbart Texas reported. The move prompted an objection from Texas Governor Greg Abbott and U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX). “Any decrease in aerial observation is not only imprudent, but contradicts the very mission of border security enforcement,” Abbott and Cuellar wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson. “In order to ensure we are doing everything possible to effectively secure the border, we request immediate information on the metrics used to determine that a 50 percent reduction in aerial resources would be sufficient to support this important border security operation.”
Following the DHS’s decision to completely close the program, Representative Cuellar renewed his objections. He is now requesting the support of other members of the Texas Congressional Delegation including House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX), Representative John Carter (R-TX), and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX).
Governor Abbott also responded to the report by Watchdog.org with a message on Twitter. “Obama is doing everything he can to open the border,” the governor tweeted. “January 20th can’t come soon enough.” He added that his deployment of Texas National Guard members will continue.
more...
