Since 1986, the Border Patrol has made more than 8 million apprehensions nationwide. Often, the border is a barely discernible line in uninhabited deserts, canyons, or mountains. The Border Patrol utilizes a variety of equipment and methods to accomplish its mission in such diverse terrain. Electronic sensors are placed at strategic locations along the border to detect people or vehicles entering the country illegally. Video monitors and night vision scopes are also used to detect illegal entries.
Agents patrol the border in vehicles, boats, aircraft, and afoot.
In some areas, the Border Patrol even employs horses, all-terrain motorcycles, bicycles, and snowmobiles. Linewatch and Signcutting Linewatch operations are conducted near international boundaries and coast lines in areas of Border Patrol jurisdiction to prevent the illegal entry and smuggling of aliens into the United States and to intercept those who do enter illegally before they can escape from border areas. Signcutting is the detection and the interpretation of any disturbances in natural terrain conditions that indicate the presence or passage of people, animals, or vehicles. These are inspections of interior-bound conveyances, which include buses, commercial aircraft, passenger and freight trains, and marine craft. The Border Patrol relies heavily on air operations support for controlling the border.