Razor wire stops lots of border-fence jumpers

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• Razor wire installation began in September 2015 along the 16-foot tall secondary fence

Razor wire stops lots of border-fence jumpers

"We've been able to keep the illegal aliens and our people out of the hospital."

By Marty Graham, Feb. 5, 2016


Recently installed razor wire along the border from Imperial Beach to San Ysidro has cut traumatic injuries to fence-jumpers by more than 70 percent. The need for border patrol agents to be stationed at hospitals for the duration of the immigrants' stays has also been reduced.

The razor wire, which discourages people from trying to jump over the 16' fence, has also reduced the number of people trying to cross and the number of assaults on federal agents, according to I.B. station patrol-agent-in-charge Greg Bovino.

No one opposed the installation, which occurred entirely on federal land.

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The razor wire has pushed crossings east, to flat land where it's easier to spot the crossers.


"If you can't get on the fence, you can't jump off of it," Bovino said. "Before the wire, it took a minute and a half to get up and over, and many people jumped. Now it takes five minutes and it gives us time to react, to get there and get them down and safely in custody."

Between October 1, 2014, and January 1, 2015, 28 people entering the U.S. illegally along that stretch of fence suffered traumatic injuries jumping off the fence in the 5.5-mile stretch that starts at the beach. One year later, between October 1, 2015, and Jan. 1, 2016, 8 were injured and taken to the hospital, according to border patrol statistics.

Injuries ranged from a broken leg and ankle bones to traumatic head injuries, he said. In more than one instance, injuries resulted in multiple surgeries to rebuild shattered bodies. In the later quarter, the injuries also tended to be less severe.

The 71-percent reduction in injuries is important not only in terms of human misery, but for the agency and taxpayers, Bovino said. When an injured person in custody is hospitalized, the Border Patrol has to keep two agents at the hospital around the clock until doctors agree the person is healthy enough to be discharged. That's at least six agents per day of hospitalization who are not protecting the border, Bovino said.

"We've been able to keep the illegal aliens and our people out of the hospital," he said. "We had a lot of manpower not protecting the border and it affects morale because our agents would rather be protecting this country than sitting at a hospital."

Taxpayers also foot the bill for the medical care, Bovino said.

The razor-wire installation began in September 2015 along the 16-foot tall secondary fence, which is about 50 yards north of the primary fence. The secondary fence alone substantially reduced the number of people crossing the border, but with the razor wire, apprehensions — which is how the feds count the effectiveness of border enforcement — dropped another 24 percent, while apprehensions along the entire southwest border increased slightly.

The other effect of the razor wire was that it pushed would-be crossers and the professional smuggling rings that traffic in people from harder-to-patrol areas to places where such crossings are more easily detected and thwarted.

In the westernmost three miles of the sector, the border cuts through hillsides and valleys where visibility isn't always great. The razor wire has pushed crossings east, to the flat land by the International Boundary and Water Commission sewage-treatment plant and near the shopping malls, where it's easier to spot the crossers. As a result, apprehensions in those areas have increased, while the hot spots in the hills have cooled off, according to border patrol statistics.

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Man Trapped In Razor Wire Border Fence Removed By San Diego Fire Department (VIDEO)

05/01/2013 02:22 pm ET

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The San Diego Fire Department retrieved a man Tuesday left trapped 20 feet in the air, when razor wire sliced through his flesh, trapping him on top of the border fence separating Mexico from the United States, Fox 5 San Diego reports.

The would-be migrant approached the fence with a ladder and tried to jump over -- a tactic used by some people who normally lay hard mats over the fence, according to Fox 5. (If you’ve seen the movie “Fight Club,” you may be familiar with the technique.)

The man was taken to receive medical treatment and may face charges for illegal entry.

The episode was a tragic reminder of how desperate some people are to enter to the United States, but it wasn’t an isolated event. U.S. authorities helped rescue some 21 people caught on the border fence last year, the Border Patrol told Fox 5.

The U.S. Congress is currently considering a bipartisan proposal for immigration reform that would pour billions more dollars into border security.

The proposal calls for $1.5 billion to expand the border fence by some 651 miles, according to ProPublica. The article cites a Senate hearing in which Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said:

I think what we would do if the bill passes… is go back and look at the type of fencing we have and say, ‘Do we want to make it triple what it is or taller?’ -- or something of that sort.

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