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The Department of Homeland Security made a good choice by selecting the University of Arizona to lead one of the department's five new Centers of Excellence. The UA is a natural fit for such a project because it is close to the border and situated in an area that sees a disproportionate amount of smuggling traffic.

We are hopeful that UA researchers' intimate knowledge of border issues will help shape more effective border policies for the nation.

The UA will direct the research arm of the Center of Excellence for Border Security and Immigration, the Star's Eric Swedlund reported Wednesday. The UA will co-lead the center with the University of Texas at El Paso.

The UA will also work with Arizona State University and a handful of other institutions to research and develop new technologies and tools to balance immigration and commerce with effective border security.

The UA will receive a $15 million grant over six years to carry out the project, Swedlund reported.

The UA had to compete for the project, which had the support of U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva and five other members of Arizona's congressional delegation.

"I commend the UA for their leadership on a comprehensive approach to border security," Grijalva said in a press release Tuesday. "Our border policy towards the U.S.-Mexico border is a constant challenge, and I am looking forward to the UA's efforts in helping to craft realistic and humane border policies."

Homeland Security officials could not have picked a more fitting university to tackle the challenges of immigration and border security. The U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector is ground zero in the United States for the smuggling of illegal drugs and illegal entrants.

Border Patrol spokesman Jesus Rodriguez said Wednesday that the Tucson Sector accounts for more than 45 percent of the national total in both illegal-border-crossing arrests and marijauna seizures.

The UA was selected for its expertise in a range of areas, including sensor innovations, unmanned aerial vehicles and border and immigration policy and law, Swedlund reported.

We congratulate the UA on becoming one of Homeland Security's centers of excellence and hope the school's researchers can help the nation find solutions — which have proved elusive — to the problems associated with illegal immigration.