Are New GPS Systems helping illegal immigrants cross the border?
by Ronen Ijadi on June 23, 2010
Are new GPS systems designs helping illegal immigrants cross the border?
Mexican Professor Ricardo Dominguez has developed a new GPS system that could be useful for undocumented immigrants trying to get into the States. The device is simply designed to help locate drinking water in the desert, churches with shelter, and human rights groups nearby. Professor Dominguez was inspired by his professor at the University of California who gave him the idea to design a GPS system that could guide hikers lost in the mountains.
Obviously, this new technology has spurred a lot of negative attention, especially from the Border Patrol Agency. They believe that this will be used as a tool to encourage illegal immigration. Professor Dominguez has stated that his GPS system is designed to keep people safe, and give them a sense of security. Over 5,000 people have died trying to cross the border in the last fifteen years, and this technology will help reduce that number drastically.
Mr. Dominguez has already received multiple death threats from anti-immigration groups, yet he remains unfazed, and is now working to make his software even more affordable and easier to use. “This system is not designed to resolve a political issue”, he stated, “it’s designed to save lives. People are dying. We can do something easy and save some lives”.
Dominguez hopes that in the near future, he will be able to distribute free cell phones with the GPS built in to non-profit profit organizations like churches and immigration agencies to aid people in need of help. Hopefully this will lead to a decrease in the amount of people who die trying to cross the border. Currently this GPS system only works on a Motorola i455 cell phone model, and can be bought for as low as $30 or $40.
Tagged as:
gps,
illegal immigrants,
mexican,
Ricardo Dominguez
