The Center for Investigative Reporting has put together an article that discusses the testing of a new program involving drones that showed what all of us already know: gotaways are incredibly underreported.
From the article:
Between October and December, records show, the remotely operated aircraft detected 7,333 border crossers during its Arizona missions. Border Patrol agents, however, reported 410 apprehensions during that time, according to an internal agency report. The sensor was credited with providing surveillance that led to 52 arrests and 15,135 pounds of seized marijuana.
The Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last year sought similar data from the Homeland Security Department as part of an investigation into allegations that officials had released “false and misleading border crossing data” that understated the volume of gotaways, according to a letter sent to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
In a response to the committee’s chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher denied the accusation, writing, “Any suggestion that USBP data collection methods were altered in order to enhance overall border statistics is patently inaccurate.”