Thread: Border cities can't 'veto' fence placement

Sat, Jun. 02, 2007

Border cities can't 'veto' fence placement
By DAVE MONTGOMERY
Star-Telegram Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Border-area communities will be consulted on the placement of a controversial fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, but they won't be empowered to "veto" construction, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Friday.

"Quite obviously, we can't give a veto to a little community if, after we've heard them, we make a judgment that we need" to build a fence in a particular location, Chertoff said in an interview. "This is a national issue that requires a national decision. It's not a local issue."

The Homeland Security Department is overseeing construction of 370 miles of fencing in Texas and the three other states that border Mexico as part of a congressionally mandated effort to reinforce the border against illegal immigrants. Texas politicians and landowners have responded with angry protests, saying the barrier will hurt the economy and disrupt relations with sister cities in Mexico.

Chertoff, acknowledging that some Texas landowners "don't want a fence at all," said his department will abide by a previous commitment to work with local leaders before making final decisions on the placement of the fence.

"And if they've got objections and they have alternative suggestions, we'll certainly consider those and entertain them," Chertoff said.

Chertoff's statements seemed at odds with comments made by his boss, President Bush, in an interview this week with McClatchy Newspapers. Bush acknowledged that a lot of Texas ranchers consider the fence a "bad idea."

"I presume we're not going to build a fence on places where people don't want it," Bush said.

Texas' two senators, Republicans Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, have insisted that Homeland Security officials consult with local leaders before moving ahead with the fence.

Under an immigration bill being considered by the Senate, 370 miles of fencing would have to be built before the government could begin other aspects of the bill, including a temporary guest worker program and a path to citizenship for more than 12 million illegal immigrants.

Congress mandated more than 700 miles of border fencing in legislation Bush signed into law late last year. Chertoff said the tentative plans for 370 miles of fencing -- including 153 miles in Texas -- were based on recommendations from Border Patrol officers, whom he described as "the real experts" in assessing where a fence should be built.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and other Republican lawmakers who sponsored the 2006 fencing bill are pressing for construction of the more than 700 miles of fencing mandated by the law. But Chertoff said Congress didn't appropriate money for the entire fence.

dmontgomery@mcclatchydc.com
Washington correspondent Dave Montgomery, 202-383-6016

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/123110.html

"I presume we're not going to build a fence on places where people don't want it," Bush said.

Is he talking about the illegal alien people again?

Dixie

Originally Posted by Dixie

"I presume we're not going to build a fence on places where people don't want it," Bush said.

Yep. There's always a loophole, isn't there? That means that fence won't be built in areas where it is "not wanted", primarily US border towns with a high illegal population who do not want to cut down on illegal immigration.

How can they think we are this stupid?