Eye in the Sky — is Santa Teresa’s Aerostat balloon working?

In August 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deployed an aerostat surveillance balloon above Santa Teresa, New Mexico — one of the busiest areas for human smuggling along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Now, nearly 10 months later, officials say it’s proving to be a vital tool in keeping apprehensions low and increasing safety for migrants during days with dangerous temperatures.

The Santa Teresa aerostat is one of five surveillance balloons currently deployed by CBP — four in the Rio Grande Sector and one in the El Paso Sector— and although the Biden Administration proposed decommissioning the program last year, Congress rejected the plan and officials who spoke to ABC-7's Marcel Clarke said there are no current plans to remove them.

Agent Nicole Galvan with Customs and Border Protection told ABC-7 News during the 2024 fiscal year alone, there were more than 980 rescues conducted in the area. So far this year, that number is significantly lower.
The region has recorded only about 327 rescues to date — a noticeable drop compared to previous years.

With more than 40 dust events reported so far this year in the Borderland, ABC-7 asked U.S. Customs and Border Protection whether the weather has impacted its surveillance efforts.

Agent Galvan addressed the issue and said, "When it's a windy day, we do take it down, but it doesn't impact us too much. We have other tools to aid in that whenever we do bring it down."

Despite its success, CBP says there are no current plans to deploy additional aerostat balloons in the Santa Teresa region.