SBInet

SBInet, the Secure Border Initiative Network, was a program initiated in 2006 for a new integrated system of personnel, infrastructure, technology, and rapid response to secure the northern and southern land borders of the United States. It was a part of Secure Border Initiative (SBI), an overarching program of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to organize the four operating components of border security: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the United States Coast Guard. DHS announced the program's cancellation on Jan. 14, 2011. In August 2008, DHS ordered Boeing to stop SBI work along the border between Arizona and Mexico because CBP had not received the necessary permissions from the Department of the Interior. Boeing told a subcontractor that the suspension of work could last until January 1, 2009. On March 16, 2010, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the DHS was diverting $50 million for the project into other efforts and that all work beyond the current pilot projects have been frozen.

SBInet, the Secure Border Initiative Network, was a program initiated in 2006 for a new integrated system of personnel, infrastructure, technology, and rapid response to secure the northern and southern land borders of the United States. It was a part of Secure Border Initiative (SBI), an overarching program of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to organize the four operating components of border security: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the United States Coast Guard. DHS announced the program's cancellation on Jan. 14, 2011. In August 2008, DHS ordered Boeing to stop SBI work along the border between Arizona and Mexico because CBP had not received the necessary permissions from the Department of the Interior. Boeing told a subcontractor that the suspension of work could last until January 1, 2009. On March 16, 2010, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the DHS was diverting $50 million for the project into other efforts and that all work beyond the current pilot projects have been frozen.

History of the program

On September 21, 2006 DHS announced the award of the SBInet contract to Boeing. DHS deputy director of homeland security Michael Jackson played a large role in the initiation of SBInet, while Greggory L. Giddens served as executive director of the SBI Program Management Office at CBP. Kirk Evans was the first SBInet program manager; on April 11, 2008, he resigned to accept another position within DHS. Five companies competed for the SBInet contract: Boeing, Ericsson, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. On September 21, 2006, following an intensive and detailed source selection process, DHS announced that it had chosen to award the contract to Boeing. Boeing named Jerry McElwee as SBInet's executive program manager, Tony Swansson as the deputy program manager, and Ilia Rosenberg as the director of technology assessment. In August 2007, McElwee was replaced by a new program manager, Daniel Korte. Boeing planned to have Project 28, the first phase of SBInet, operational in June 2007, but ran into software and other technology problems. In early September 2007, with the Project 28 implementation delayed until at least October, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said at a Congressional hearing, "I am not going to buy something with U.S. government money unless I'm satisfied it works in the real world." He added, "And if it can't be made to work, I'm prepared to go and find something that will be made to work, although I'll obviously be disappointed." Border patrol agents began using the system in December 2007, and the system was officially accepted by DHS in February 2008. Boeing was awarded further contracts to upgrade software and hardware, which it expected to have done by the end of 2008. In February 2008, a Government Accountability Office report detailed problems with the then-deployed technologies. The system was designed to detect a "target" with radar, and then use video cameras to determine whether the radar return came from a person or vehicle, or from some benign source (such as an animal). The GAO reported that radar information was too slow to appear on screens, and was being inappropriately triggered by rain and other weather phenomena. Camera resolution was insufficient for targets beyond 3.1 miles, and the stylus-controlled laptops mounted on moving vehicles were not rugged enough and were difficult to use. These findings were against the prototype system known as "Project 28". They were all addressed before the final production system was ready in 2010.

Tower system

Towers were meant to be set up along the border, with varying surveillance and communications equipment depending on the climate, terrain, population density, and other factors. Towers were slated to include radar, long-range cameras, broadband wireless access points, thermal imaging capabilities, and motion detectors. SBInet was meant to also include some ground sensors for seismic detection as well.

Command centers

All of the information received by sensors were meant to go to command centers, where a "common operating picture" would have been compiled by CBP and shared with other agencies. The common operating picture would have appeared on computer screens as a geospatial map, where border entries are tracked in real time. Command center personnel were supposed to be able to click on a given entry, view the entry, and assess the threat using the long-range cameras on the towers. They will then dispatch Border Patrol agents accordingly.

Border Patrol response

Border Patrol agents were meant to carry PDAs with GPS capabilities, to allow the command center to track the location of agents interdicting illegal entries and watch the encounter in real time on the common operating picture. Additionally, the PDAs were supposed to have advanced fingerprint identification technology, to allow Border Patrol agents to identify an individual at the interdiction site immediately and the ability to view and control tower cameras from the PDA. In addition, Border Patrol agents were to be given laptops in the patrol car to provide the information necessary to effectively and safely approach a given threat.

Airborne sensors

Airborne sensors on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were meant to fill in gaps in the "virtual fence" in remote areas where building and maintaining towers was impractical. A small UAV called the Skylark operated by a single individual, was considered. The Skylark was made by Elbit Systems.

Construction strategy

The towers that were initially to be placed in the pilot section were intended to be mobile, so that they could be moved around to discover optimal placement. Once the optimal placement was determined, they would be replaced with permanent towers, and the mobile towers were to be reused to begin construction on the next section of SBInet in a similar manner. At completion, Boeing estimated that it would use approximately 1,800 towers to create its "virtual fence" along the borders. In addition to towers and technology systems, SBInet would include the construction of fences, vehicle barriers and border roads.

Criticism

The SBInet program was criticized by media and political sources. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-Me.), Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI.), and Senator George Voinovich (R-Oh.), expressed concern that the program faced significant management challenges that could undermine its effectiveness. In anticipation of the department's final approval of Project 28 and the planned investment of at least $64 million for the next phase of SBInet's development, the senators sent a letter to DHS secretary Michael Chertoff, questioning CBP's failure to establish firm operational requirements before initiating Project 28, and asking whether such requirements would be addressed in the next phase. The senators also cited an over-reliance on contractors as one of their chief concerns, raising issues about whether DHS could properly oversee the project. Jerry McElwee, a Boeing vice president, said that the June 2007 version of Project 28 was "a demonstration of our approach and a test bed for incorporating improvements" to SBInet. Under heavy scrutiny for costs and effectiveness, Boeing reiterated that P28 was a test program. In June, 2010 a General Accounting Office report summarized severe criticism of the project stated at a congressional committee hearing. Janice Kephart of the Center for Immigration Studies defended SBINet, writing, "SBInet is still operational where it was deployed, despite the widespread notion that the light switch was turned off on both the Tucson and Ajo sectors due to cancellation. The reason SBInet is still operating is because it works." hsgac.senate.gov

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1318624753 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.