TUCSON, March 16 (UPI) -- Department of Homeland Security officials announced a program to draw from dozens of law enforcement groups to tighten security along the Arizona-Mexico border.
Department Undersecretary for Border and Transportation and Security Asa Hutchinson unveiled the "Arizona Border Control Initiative" to deter terrorist activities and cross-border illegal trafficking of people and drugs.
The ABC Initiative follows Operations ICE Storm on the border, which has resulted on more than 2,000 arrests since October. The new plan will involve hundreds of local-state, tribal and federal law enforcement officials in Arizona, the department said in a release.
Hutchinson said, "The ABC Initiative exemplifies Homeland Security's goal to present one face at the border" by bringing together personnel from at least eight federal, tribal and state groups and dozens of other local law enforcement agencies.
The department release also said additional aerial surveillance -- both manned and unmanned -- will take place over the border area. The initiative is expected to cost about $10 million through the end of the fiscal year in September.
