09-08-2025
GrandSky roundtable: Border security standards need reevaluation, says Customs and Border Protection leader
Aug. 8—EMERADO, N.D. — While visiting Emerado for a roundtable discussion with law enforcement and unmanned aerial systems stakeholders, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said the standards for border security need to be reevaluated in light of potential drone threats and the destruction he believes they will bring across the border if given the opportunity.
Traditionally, Scott said, Border Patrol's policies and use-of-force expectations have been set based on domestic law enforcement situations.
"I fundamentally believe border security law enforcement needs to be viewed differently than domestic law enforcement," he said. "... We should have the ability — with a lot less red tape — to stop stuff from coming into our home."
It hasn't been argued before that a potential invading force should be treated differently, and Scott said he believes that conversation needs to be had, particularly because of drones and their potential threat.
During the discussion, held Friday morning, Aug. 8, at GrandSky, a commercial UAS business and aviation park located in Emerado, Scott said he has observed drones weaponized on the Mexican side of the southern border.
He said cartel members are deploying suicide drones and dropping grenades on the Mexican military, and "if we don't think that stuff's coming north once they start carving into their pocketbooks, we're insane."
"... We have got to get ahead of this," Scott said.
U. S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, expressed agreement with Scott's stance. The two men said preventing border crossings should be handled differently than how law enforcement is expected to treat people inside the United States.
"It's the difference between somebody who comes here legally and someone (who comes here illegally,)" Hoeven said. "You're right on that. We have to find ways to accomplish that."
He asked other stakeholders in the room how they believe $500 million in federal funds — recently designated to state and local resources to detect threats from unmanned aerial systems — should be put to use.
The designation was made under Operation Stonegarden (OPSG), which the Department of Homeland Security website says was created to enhance cooperation and coordination among CBP, United States Border Patrol and other levels of law enforcement to improve border security.
Attendees of Friday's roundtable included representatives from CBP, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Northern Plains UAS Test Site and UND Research Institute for Autonomous Systems. Also present were Grand Forks County Sheriff Andy Schneider and state Sen. Scott Meyer, R-Grand Forks, who is the director of engagement at GrandSky.
BCI Special Agent Alex Droske expressed his own concerns, including that unmanned systems could be deployed with terroristic intent in the United States.
"There are no counter-UAS assets as far as local law enforcement in North Dakota ... " Droske said.
He said he hopes some financial resources will trickle down to the very local level.
Other attendees spoke about existing counter-drone resources that seemed promising, but when brought into the real world were found to be completely unreliable.
Scott said he's "willing to take some risks" to invest in resources, though, because there are usually less-than-perfect investments before finding the right fit.
Hoeven emphasized the potential to test any resource options in Grand Forks before making a significant investment, because Grand Forks International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the nation, thanks to aerospace education at the University of North Dakota.
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