clipped from: deletetheborder.org   

U.S. town opposes "Big Brother" Mexico border fence

ARIVACA, Arizona (Reuters) - A pilot project to place a high-tech network of surveillance towers along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border has met boisterous opposition in this Arizona town, where some residents call it "Big Brother."

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is installing a network of nine towers with ground radar and night vision cameras to monitor a 28-mile (45-km) stretch of border near Arivaca, southwest of Tucson.

It is the first trial for the communications and technology arm of the government's Secure Border Initiative announced in 2005. Dubbed "SBInet," authorities say it will be extended across some 6,000 miles of the Mexican and Canadian borders in segments in coming years.

The Border Patrol said the system, which is being built by aerospace giant Boeing under a contract estimated at some $2 billion,
it will be integrated into a wider network, including a fleet of Predator B unmanned surveillance drones.