( CNN ) -- When her baby girl takes an afternoon nap , or on those nights when she just ca n't sleep , Sarah Andrews , 32 , tosses off her identity as a suburban stay-at-home mom and becomes something more exotic : a `` virtual deputy '' patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border . A Texas program lets Internet users around the world monitor live video from the Mexico border . From her house in a suburb of Rochester , New York , Andrews spends at least four hours a day watching a site called BlueServo.net . There , because of a $ 2 million grant from the state of Texas , anyone in the world can watch grainy live video scenes of cactuses , desert mountains and the Rio Grande along Texas ' portion of the international border . When Andrews spots something she deems suspicious -- perhaps a fuzzy character moving from right to left across the screen or people wading through the river with what appear to be trash bags atop their heads -- she and the site 's 43,000 registered users can send e-mail messages straight to local law enforcement , who then decide whether to act . `` Today , there 's a couple vehicles that are parked side by side next to each other , '' she said by phone , her 7-month-old cooing in the background , `` but I ca n't tell what 's going on , you know ? '' See sample videos from BlueServo.net » . The video site 's supporters see the 15-camera project as a stride forward in U.S. efforts to halt illegal immigration , drug smuggling and border violence . Run by the Texas Border Sheriff 's Coalition , an association of 20 sheriffs from border counties , the project seeks to spread responsibility for the border 's security across the nation 's masses of Internet users . About 20 million people have clicked on BlueServo.net since it launched November 20 , and the Web site has gained national attention at a time when many eyes already were focused on the southern border of the United States . Lawmakers are raising concerns about drug-related violence spilling into the United States from Mexico . And , bucking an upward trend , there has been an apparent decrease in illegal immigration into the United States because of the struggling economy , according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security . Look at where the border wall is located » . The Bush administration made a number of attempts to curb illegal immigration from the south . The administration added troops to the area and also built a wall along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border , drawing criticism from environmentalists and immigration advocates . Now , a virtual community says it 's trying to fill gaps in that protection . Rob Abernethy , a 42-year-old factory worker from Lincolnton , North Carolina , said he spends 30 minutes here and there watching the border out of a sense of civic responsibility . `` It may take the efforts of many to get a small result , but that small result could be rewarding or great in the long run , '' he said . But critics say the program tempts extremists to become involved in border security , which they say is a job better left to trained professionals . Although there have been no reports of vigilante groups using the site to make arrests , Texas state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh , a Democrat from El Paso , said the program is `` pandering to these groups to keep them politically engaged on this issue . '' The program also has been widely criticized as ineffective in Texas newspaper editorials , as well as by some of the Web site 's own users . Since the site was launched in late November , only four arrests can be attributed to the cameras , said Don Reay , executive director of the sheriffs ' coalition , which runs the project with money from Texas Gov . Rick Perry 's office . All of those arrests were related to marijuana trafficking , he said , with about 2,000 pounds of the drug seized . Those are n't the kind of results planners were looking for when they started the program , but Reay says the program 's unseen value is in the fact that it prevents drug-related violence and trafficking . He said sheriffs along the border have seen decreased crime in recent months , partly because of the camera program , although he said he could not cite statistics to back up that claim . Perry 's office said the cameras prevent crime because they do n't `` allow the bad guys to op under the cloak of darkness anymore , '' according to Katherine Cesinger , Perry 's spokeswoman . The cameras spy on stretches of the Texas-Mexico border where the border patrol is n't particularly active or where the border wall has n't been constructed , Reay said . He declined to list locations of the cameras for security reasons but said most are hidden on existing structures on private properties . He wants the program to expand `` to cover every place where we do n't have a fence '' and says the primary goal of the camera program is to fight crime , not immigration . There 's no evidence that security cameras would deter people from crossing the border , said Stephen Legomsky , a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis , Missouri , who specializes in immigration . `` If a person wants to come , they 'll find a point at which they 're willing to cross , '' he said , adding that studies show that more people are drowning and dying of dehydration in increasingly daring attempts to cross the border as security increases . Abernethy and Andrews , the two `` virtual deputies , '' said they would like to see greater transparency in the project . Both said they have e-mailed notes of suspicious activity to law enforcement , but neither has heard whether their alerts were of any help . `` It 's interesting . You see different things on there , but I just -- I do n't know that it 's doing any good , '' said Andrews , the stay-at-home mom . `` I wonder if it 's a waste of time . '' She said she hopes her work as `` virtual deputy '' will prevent so many drugs from working their way north from Mexico into New York . She also said the site draws her interest because she 's nosy about what 's going on along Texas ' 1,250-mile international border . Abernethy said he will continue to watch the cameras because he feels like he 's part of an altruistic group of volunteers . Friends tease him about watching the site , he said . But he sees it as no worse than any other form of quick entertainment -- and maybe he can be of some help in the process . `` It 's no different than watching 'Everybody Loves Raymond ' reruns , '' he said . `` It 's just something to do . ''
BlueServo.net lets users watch live video from 15 cameras on Texas-Mexico border . Texas put $ 2 million into project to prevent crime and illegal immigration . Critics say cameras are ineffective ; only four arrests reported since November . Site user : ` I'm a Mexican citizen, but I'm not here illegally' Comment: Everybody Loves Raymond ' reruns ''