Seabees to build border barrier at Columbus port of entry
By The Deming Headling
Article Launched: 05/16/2007 09:19:48 AM MDT


DEMING, N.M. - A group of Seabees will be putting up a new barrier along the New Mexico-Mexico border.
The Navy's construction force is expected to take six weeks to build the barrier on either side of the Columbus port of entry, said Rick Moody, agent in charge of the U.S. Border Patrol station in Deming. The barrier will be 15 feet high, with an additional five feet buried in the ground.

Moody said there is a lot of traffic around the port of entry, much of it related to drug smuggling.

The biggest threat is vehicles crossing the border illegally and not stopping when pursued, Moody said.

"They run other vehicles off the road," he said.

The current vehicle barriers are damaged frequently, he said. Border Patrol agents check them daily, and National Guard troops, stationed in the area to assist the Border Patrol, make repairs as needed.

"We're not telling our neighbors to the south we don't want them, but we want them to come through the front door," Moody said.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_5909647