NEW YORK — Federal lawmakers say they will push for new measures in Congress on Monday to track down the mysterious drones flying across the Tri-State Area and the country.

Gov. Kathy Hochul says federal partners are deploying a state-of-the-art detection system to New York state.

Here’s how the ROBIN radar detection system works

On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’s requesting the Department of Homeland Security deploy a detection system like one known as ROBIN.

“Which use not a linear line of sight but 360-degree technology that has a much better chance of detecting these drones. We’re asking DHS to bring them to the New York-New Jersey area,” Schumer said.

“Would you consider banning sale of them from some of the companies that make the drones?” CBS News New York’s Lisa Rozner asked New York’s senior senator.

“There are hundreds of companies all over the globe that make drones. We don’t know which ones these are. This radar will help us find out which they are and then we can go talk to the companies,” Schumer said.

Rozner asked DHS if it would grant Schumer’s request for a new detection system. A rep responded by saying the agency only responds to congressional inquiries directly via “official channels.”

Hochul said Sunday the state needs Congress to pass the a bill which would give New York the authority to detect, track or even destroy unmanned aircraft systems. That legislation has been stuck in committees, but Schumer’s office said with him as co-sponsor now, it could pass by the end of the year.

“We need to take a hard look at our homeland defenses”  

On CBS’ Face The Nation, Republican Congressman Mike Waltz of Florida said defense agencies are pointing the finger at each other and under President-elect Donald Trump.

“We need to take a hard look at our homeland defenses. President Trump has talked about an iron dome for America that needs to include drones as well, not just adversarial actions like hypersonic missiles. We need to have an all-of-the-above protection of U.S. airspace,” Waltz said.

The FBI says it has received approximately 5,000 tips on the aircraft sightings, and of those, less than 100 leads were deemed worthy of further investigation.

The DHS secretary said on ABC This Week that the agency knows of “no foreign involvement.”

The Department of Defense also said the military is “prohibited from conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations in the U.S.”

“I believe it’s sabotage”

The South Bronx is now part of the multiple places in the Northeast where clusters of drones have been spotted.

“They’re huge, too, so I don’t know what’s going on,” resident Jeff Garcia said.

“I believe it’s sabotage because all of a sudden we getting all of these drones coming from somewhere,” resident Donna McCoy said.

“Is it like recording people? Or they just going around sitting there looking at you?” JJ Mines-Evans added.

Add former Gov. Chris Christie to the list of New Jersey residents reporting mysterious “drone” sightings outside of their homes.

As reports of strange lights seen in the sky in New Jersey and other Northeast states have sparked questions and concerns across the country, Christie said during an interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” he believes he saw a drone outside his own home last week.

“That was a drone over my house, and I’ve never seen anything like that before and I’ve been living at that house for 30 years,” Christie said.

The sightings have raised concerns about potential public safety threats, with Christie and others saying more needs to be done to investigate. Christie said he wants the state police to have authority to “bring those drones down and find out why they’re doing what they’re doing.”

“You can see why people are concerned, and it’s a lack of communication from the government at the federal and state level that’s at fault here,” Christie said.

Federal authorities have tried to reassure Americans that the objects don’t appear to be operating nefariously. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have said such sightings mostly appear to be not drones at all.  

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Majorkas also said on ABC’s “This Week” that the federal government is helping the New Jersey State Police investigate the drone issue.

“I want to assure the American public we are on it. We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities,” Majorkas said.

Federal authorities have found no evidence of foreign involvement in the drone flights, Majorkas said.

While acknowledging concerns about the drones, Majorkas noted there are more than one million registered in the United States and thousands flying every day, implying such activity is normal and frequent. He also noted that the Federal Aviation Administration changed the rules in 2023 so drones can fly at night.

Majorkas said some of the sightings are actually manned aircraft but added “there’s no question that drones are being sighted.”

Christie noted that drones have become an important part of commerce, law enforcement and other areas, adding: “We need to be able to operate in a safe way and we’re not doing that.”

President-elect Donald Trump joined the drone conversation with a recent social media post, calling on the government needs to give more information.

 “Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” Trump wrote.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY