EVAN CARAVELLI/Arizona Daily Wildcat Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., held a press conference in front of Old Main Friday, addressing a broad range of issues from the war in Iraq to funding border patrol efforts.

Sen. John McCain and Rep. Jim Kolbe spoke Friday about using new technology similar to that being developed at the UA to increase security at the Arizona-Mexico border.

"We cannot tell the American people we are winning the war on terrorism unless we prove our borders are secure," said McCain, R-Ariz., at a brief press conference outside Old Main.

Earlier this month, McCain and Kolbe, R-Ariz., introduced similar border security bills in both the House and Senate that would increase aerial and ground surveillance of the border in order to catch illegal immigration and drug smuggling from Mexico.

The border security legislation may provide additional federal grants for UA researchers toward the innovation of such technologies, said Judy Bernas, UA associate vice president for federal relations.

"We hope to get as much funding as we can get," Bernas said.

Bernas said research conducted on campus could help to secure the border.

Groups such as the UA Aerial Robotics Team have also been working on developing planes that fly only by computers, cameras and global positioning system technology.

The border technology legislation will direct the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection field offices to see what technology and equipment could improve security.

"The legislation will enable us to stretch out our resources further, allowing for innovation," Kolbe said.

In addition to unmanned aerial vehicles, infrared cameras, motion detectors and additional video cameras would also monitor the border.

According to Humane Borders, a faith-based group that advocates for a just and humane border environment, only 20 percent of the immigrants who attempt to sneak into the United States are apprehended.

Many attribute the low number of apprehensions to limited amount of staff who monitor hundreds of miles of land on the border.

"We can never have enough boots on the ground," McCain said.

But for Humane Borders, which was the only advocacy group present at the press conference, new technology alone will not solve the problem of immigrants crossing through the desert.

"We need many solutions to limit death, and technology doesn't solve the problem," said Sue Goodman, the administrative coordinator for Humane Borders.

According to Rev. Robin Hoover, the president of Humane Borders, the amount of border patrol staff just recently increased back to pre-Sept. 11, 2001 numbers. The technology is a "manpower multiplier," Hoover said.

Hoover called "policy" the root of the problem, saying, "We need (McCain and Kolbe) to think more creatively because death makes this policy intolerable."

Congress has considered guest worker programs in the past.

"(This legislation) is not likely to move guest worker legislation in Congress," Kolbe said. "We hope it will stimulate the debate."

Starting May 1, Humane Borders will make daily trips into the desert to provide passive humanitarian assistance to migrants, including providing water in light blue tanks.