Fixing N.M. border mistake may be costly

One Old Vet broke this story days before the ‘media’ got a hold of it.

Our confidential sources within the Department of Homeland Security said technically incompetent program and project managers were to blame for this mistake.

Is it no wonder that only 13 miles of fence have been built so far?

— One Old Veteran

[b]U. S. A. TODAY[/b

Fixing N.M. border mistake may be costly

COLUMBUS, N.M. (AP) — The 1.5-mile barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border was designed to keep cars from illegally crossing into the United States. There’s just one problem: It was accidentally built on Mexican soil.

Now embarrassed border officials say the mistake could cost the federal government more than $3 million to fix.

The barrier was part of more than 15 miles of border fence built in 2000 in New Mexico, stretching from the town of Columbus to an onion farm and cattle ranch.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman said the vertical metal tubes were sunk into the ground and filled with cement along what officials firmly believed was the border. But a routine aerial survey in March revealed the barrier protrudes into Mexico by 1 to 6 feet.

James Johnson, whose onion farm is in the disputed area, said he thinks his forefathers may have started the confusion in the 19th century by placing a barbed-wire fence south of the border. No one discovered their error, and crews erecting the barrier may have used that fence as a guideline.

“It was a mistake made in the 1800s,â€