Donald Trump

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives thumbs up to the crowd as he arrives at a campaign rally, Friday, April 15, 2016, in Plattsburgh, N.Y. Trump will make his first campaign stop in Syracuse on Saturday, April 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

(Elise Amendola)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Donald Trump said Friday he would order the use of remotely piloted drones for 24-hour surveillance on the U.S. borders if he is elected president.

Trump told Syracuse.com that he wants to significantly expand the use of drones on both the Mexican and Canadian borders under the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, who began domestic drone flights in 2006.

The Republican presidential front-runner said he would not advocate the use of armed drones or military drones in the United States.

"They would work in conjunction with the Border Patrol, who are fantastic people who want to do their job," Trump said. "I want surveillance for our borders, and the drone has great capabilities for surveillance."

Trump made his comments during a brief interview in advance of his Syracuse visit on Saturday to rally voters before New York's April 19 presidential primary. He spoke by telephone from Plattsburgh, minutes before he addressed a rally of 3,000 people Friday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has steadily increased its reliance on surveillance drones along the southwestern border for almost a decade, with a goal of four flights a day for 16 hours each, according to the Washington Post.

But a federal audit last year found the border drones were grounded most of the time and had helped apprehend only a small percentage of those who illegally crossed the border.

Trump said he would also expand the use of military drones used by the United States in overseas conflicts, such as the MQ-9 Reaper drones operated by the Air National Guard's 174th Attack Wing in Syracuse.

Trump said he was not aware that pilots based in Syracuse remotely operate the Reaper drones for surveillance and combat missions over Afghanistan.

"It's amazing that you can do that from Syracuse," Trump said, adding, "I would absolutely keep and expand that capability in Syracuse."

Making America and Syracuse great again



Trump, asked about his campaign slogan "Make America Great Again," offered an explanation about the last time America truly was "great."

"If you're talking about really greatness, I would say World War II -- the end of World War II," he said. "You look at what it was, and the power. Our military was powerful and our country was powerful."

He said the nation almost recaptured that greatness during former President Ronald Reagan's two terms in office from 1981 to 1989.

"I think that the Reagan years were good," Trump said. "I disagreed with the trade. You know, the trade was not -- that would be the one element that I wouldn't have agreed with, frankly. Because as you know, they had trade policies that were not what I would have."

Reagan advocated for free trade, and set the foundation for what would later become the North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

"I would say I was not in love with those policies," Trump said. "But the image of our country and the status of our president, I think, were really great."

On Syracuse's poverty

Trump was asked what specific plans he has to address poverty in places like Syracuse, which a 2015 study found has the nation's highest rate of extreme poverty concentrated among black and Hispanics.

The billionaire businessman said the answer is to negotiate new trade deals, and bring back high-paying manufacturing jobs from overseas by imposing taxes or tariffs of 35 percent on goods made by U.S. companies overseas for domestic consumption.

"I mean we're losing millions of jobs," Trump said. "We're just losing them because of our bad trade deals. We have the worst trade deals of any country ever. We don't win on any deals because we have the wrong people negotiating the deals."

He said Syracuse and Upstate New York will see an "amazing difference" with new and better job opportunities if he is elected president.

"Syracuse is a place that has great potential," Trump said. "But the jobs are being stripped away. I ask for statistics to different places before I go there, and it's so sad what's happened to New York state. Not only Syracuse. I'm talking about New York state generally."

He added, "It's almost like just a duplicate every place -- they're 50 percent down, they're 70 percent down in jobs -- and such potential. Such beauty and such potential and they just don't have it. It's just not happening."

Asked if he had other solutions to address chronic poverty among blacks and Hispanics, Trump said that the best approach is to renegotiate trade deals.

"I'm all for free trade," Trump said. "But it's no longer free trade. It's stupid trade and it's destroying our country. When I'm up in Syracuse and I'm up at the different places like Albany and all of the places where we have these big crowds with unbelievable people -- you know how good the people are -- and they're getting just decimated."

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