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US adds cameras at Mexico border despite drop in crossings

US adds cameras at Mexico border despite drop in crossings
Posted at 3:23 PM, Apr 22, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-22 18:23:11-04

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration has quietly added military surveillance cameras at the U.S.-Mexico border in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The cameras and deployment of 540 more troops come despite a nine-month decline in apprehensions that indicate fewer people are crossing illegally.

The Associated Press obtained internal military documents saying the Department of Defense provided 60 mobile surveillance cameras this month at the request of the Department of Homeland Security.

A Customs and Border Protection spokesman declined to specify why the cameras are needed.

They were sought though Mexico has a fraction of the number of COVID-19 cases that have been confirmed in the U.S.