Late-night CBP helicopter ride-along shows advanced tech used to apprehend migrants

Fox News took an exclusive late-night helicopter ride over the El Paso, Texas, sector, offering a glimpse into U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations to capture migrants trying to evade, and the challenges agents face each night. 

Our team got a first-hand look at the advanced technology that CBP uses to detect migrants and smugglers.

Agents with the agency’s Air and Marine Operations wore nighttime vision goggles as we flew above one of the busiest areas for migrant traffic. 

“All right, those two are crawling away,” one of the agents said. 

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The helicopter was equipped with a high-tech camera designed for nighttime surveillance. The agents monitored a live feed, enhanced by a mapping software, allowing them to pinpoint the exact locations of the migrants. 

We watched as some migrants cut holes in the border wall and squeezed through, while others hid behind brush, rolling on the desert to slip past authorities. Little did they know, we were with agents five miles away and still able to track their every move from the skies and in the pitch black. 

Agents also used lasers, which are invisible to the naked eye. The lasers can lock onto targets, giving precise coordinates.  

The Air and Marine agents stayed in constant communication with Border Patrol agents on the ground and were able to guide them to the locations.

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Our camera crew on the ground captured several of the apprehensions, including that of a 19-year-old from Mexico and a man from Guatemala.

Not only are encounters down in the El Paso Sector, but agents tell Fox News the number of “gotaways,” which are migrants who evade capture, has also decreased. On Wednesday, Border Patrol agents said they had zero gotaways, which was the first time in a few years. 

Agents also pointed out the new presence of Border Patrol and National Guard vehicles stationed in hot spots. Prior to the Trump administration, Border Patrol agents were stretched so thin that they said they didn’t have the manpower to have a strong presence in these critical areas.