U.S. CBP deploys aerostatic balloon in Santa Teresa

Update (September 5, 2024): The balloon arrived at the U.S. Border Patrol Santa Teresa Station. U.S. CBP and Border Patrol El Paso Sector confirmed the aerostat will be deployed this month.

SANTA TERESA, New Mexico (KVIA) -- U.S. Customs Border Protection El Paso Sector is planning to deploy an aerostatic balloon just west of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry in September 2024 to monitor the area of the U.S.-Mexico border in that zone.

This area is part of the Santa Teresa, New Mexico Border Patrol Station area of operation, which has the largest number of migrant encounters in the El Paso Sector.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) uses the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) to provide long-range detection of low-altitude aircraft at the radar’s maximum range. The elevated sensor mitigates the curvature of the earth and terrain masking limitations.

According to a spokesman with U.S. CBP El Paso Field Office, this area also has a significant number of human smuggling-related deaths and rescues as the area’s harsh desert conditions and remote terrain present a dangerous risk to migrants who are often abandoned in the area by criminal smugglers.

In a statement sent to ABC-7, U.S. CBP said:

"The Tactical Aerostat Program (TAS) is an aerostat-borne surveillance capability which provides land domain awareness and persistent surveillance along the United States-Mexico border. The TAS Program consists of lighter-than-air aerostats. The aerostat systems feature multiple sensor types, including electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR)."

ABC-7 also contacted U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector to learn the current numbers recorded in our border area.

A spokesperson with Border Patrol said El Paso Sector has seen 230,336 migrant encounters this FY24 through July, representing a 36% reduction compared to this same time last year (364,089). Most of the migrant encounters take place in the Santa Teresa, New Mexico area.

El Paso Sector has recorded 927 rescues and 168 deaths.

U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez also commented on the aerostat deployment saying:

"This technology is not only meant to increase Border Patrol's situational awareness and ability to apprehend folks that are crossing the border illegally, it also enables them to save lives, and we can do that effectively with the implementation of smart technology, including the aerostat, which should come online next month, right here at the Santa Teresa border patrol station. That along with other technology that we really need to fund, will prevent those types of deaths that we're seeing in Dona Ana County. Technology is just one part of that solution."

According to his office, Rep. Vasquez wrote a letter last fall asking CBP to deploy tactical aerostats in the El Paso sector, because he is supportive of this technology to reduce the number of migrant deaths and rescues in our sector.