UNITED STATES - Are you seriously worried about Mexicans crossing illegally into the United States? Or simply exasperated at the extreme viewpoints that often surface when the subject of immigration crops up?

Whichever category you fall into, www.blueservo.com should be of interest.

The intriguing site invites you to become your very own border deputy. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection. Set up six months ago, over 100,000 people have joined the website, a public-private partnership to encourage the public to take part in fighting border crime.

People as far afield as Australia, Asia and Europe have joined the website, where for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, they can view, in real time, one of 11 cameras placed strategically along the lone star state’s 1,254-mile border with Mexico. The cameras are located in areas where crime is thought to be most prevalent.

These “Virtual Texas Deputies” email Border Sheriffs whenever they witness illegal activity. Site officials claim that tips have led to the seizure of more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana and 30 incidents where “significant” numbers of suspected illegal immigrants were spotted and detained.

“Texas landowners who live and work along the border have requested cameras to be placed on their property,” said Arvin West, first vice president of the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition. “By putting more eyes on the Texas-Mexico border, law enforcement can better protect our state from powerful and ruthless Mexican crime cartels and violent transnational gangs.”

Republican Texas Governor Rick Perry is in agreement and has siphoned off two million dollars of state funds for the project.

A short 20-minute view of camera 731, where viewers are asked to “look for individuals on foot carrying backpacks,” yielded nothing but a tranquil mountain scene. Those worried enough about immigrants and drug-smuggling to watch the footage for hours on end must have a lot of patience and a less-than-full schedule.

Democrats have criticized the use of public funds for the project. One state senator from El Paso stated that it “panders to extremists” and that it is “not an effective use of two million dollars.”

A number of Texan Democratic Party members look set to oppose the renewal of funding for the cameras, although advertising from the site may offset the decrease in state funding.

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