US adds cameras at Mexico border despite drop in crossings

Sgt. Brandon Banzhaf/AP

In this April 4, 2019 photo, provided by the U.S. Army, a mobile surveillance camera system manned by soldiers monitors a sector near the Presidio Border Patrol Station at Presidio, Texas. The Trump administration has been quietly adding military surveillance cameras at the U.S.-Mexico border in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic despite the fact fewer people appear to be crossing illegally. Documents obtained by The Associated Press show the Department of Defense at the request of the Department of Homeland Security sent 60 mobile surveillance cameras in addition to 540 more troops to the southwest border this month. (Sgt. Brandon Banzhaf/U.S. Army via AP)

By: The Associated Press

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration has quietly added military surveillance cameras at the U.S.-Mexico border in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The cameras and deployment of 540 more troops come despite a nine-month decline in apprehensions that indicate fewer people are crossing illegally.

The Associated Press obtained internal military documents saying the Department of Defense provided 60 mobile surveillance cameras this month at the request of the Department of Homeland Security.

A Customs and Border Protection spokesman declined to specify why the cameras are needed.

They were sought though Mexico has a fraction of the number of COVID-19 cases that have been confirmed in the U.S.