IRVING – Gov. Rick Perry tried to shore up his border security credentials Monday as he campaigned for re-election by calling for a Predator drone at the Texas-Mexico border and highlighting a transnational gang initiative.

DAVID WOO/DMN

Gov. Rick Perry, with state Rep. Jim Jackson, said the federal government has failed at sealing the Texas-Mexico border.

Perry, a Republican seeking his third full term as governor, said he has asked the Defense Department to deploy an unarmed drone to the Texas border to assist in border security and provide "real-time" data. "Why not fly them from Brownsville to El Paso?" Perry said in remarks at the Irving Police Association Hall.

Already, there are three Predator B, or unmanned aerial vehicles, in use at the Arizona border for remote-control surveillance of drug and migrant smuggling by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. The Predator B aircraft are similar to those used in Afghanistan, but U.S. border craft carry no weapons, said Juan Muñoz-Torres, a Border Protection spokesman.

A fourth Predator aircraft is expected to arrive this summer and will be stationed in Corpus Christi.

Law enforcement officers are frequently "outgunned and understaffed and do not have resources" to do their jobs, Perry said. "The federal government has been an abject failure at sealing our international border."

Perry also emphasized his fight against transnational gangs linked to drug cartels through $225,000 law enforcement grants that have gone to Irving, Arlington, Garland and Fort Worth. A $500,000 grant was given to Dallas, Perry's staff said.

Perry's chief Republican opponent, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, was quick to issue a news release criticizing Perry's border security initiatives, especially a border camera program that she called a "boondoggle" that led to few arrests.

The GOP primary is March 2.

Hutchison's staff said the senator has been tougher on immigration issues, proposing that the state Department of Public Safety adopt the 287(g) program and that the state use the E-Verify program to check all employees' Social Security numbers.

The 287(g) program, which allows local law enforcement to become certified as immigration agents, has been criticized by Hispanic groups who say it leads to racial profiling.