Thread: Texas officials criticize fence plan

Texas officials criticize fence plan

By LYNN BREZOSKY, Associated Press Writer
15 minutes ago



McALLEN, Texas - A new map showing President Bush's planned border fence has riled Rio Grande Valley officials, who say the proposed barrier reneges on assurances that the river would remain accessible to farmers, wildlife and recreation.

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City officials in the heavily populated valley had anticipated a "virtual" fence of surveillance cameras and border patrols.

Instead, a Customs and Border Protection map depicts a structure running piecemeal along a 600-mile stretch of Texas from Presidio to Brownsville, a border region where daily life is binational.

"We were given the impression that they were not going to be building walls, that there would be more cameras, surveillance, boots on the ground," said Mike Allen, head of McAllen Economic Development Corp.

"This is going to seriously affect the farmers," he said. "They will not have access to water. It's just going to create bedlam."

The map, obtained by The Associated Press, was attached to a memo addressed to "Dear Texas Homeland Security Partner." It outlines a plan to build 370 miles of fence and 200 miles of vehicle barriers, such as concrete barriers, by the end of 2008.

Of the 370 miles of fence, Texas is to have 153, Arizona 129, California 76, and New Mexico 12. Most of the vehicle barriers will be in Arizona and New Mexico.

Russ Knocke, a spokesman for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, said that the so-called virtual fence won't work in urban areas and that the federal government has delivered a consistent message to local officials.

"We are utilizing traditional fencing at the border generally in those areas including metropolitan areas where it is easier for an alien ... to conceal themselves in a home or a business," he said.

Agents would use technology including sensors, radar and aerial drones in remote border areas, Knocke said.

Environmentalists fear the fence will block Rio Grande water access to endangered cats such as ocelots and jaguarundi and ruin key feeding and resting areas for migratory birds.

Environmental assessments are being conducted, but border security outweighs such concerns, Knocke said.

"For more than two decades this has been a problem that has been bubbling up," he said. "There's an expectation by the American people that we secure our borders."

Chertoff has already waived requirements to get permits in environmentally sensitive areas in order to expedite construction, Knocke said.

Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas said the fence would damage the regional economy, which thrives on cross-border commerce.

Mexicans cross daily to make bank deposits, buy real estate, shop and work — activities Salinas said would be threatened by the ill feelings generated in Mexico by the fence.

"Irrigation, that's one concern," Salinas said. "The other is the indirect message you're sending to you neighbor to the south."

President Bush called for 700 miles of fence during his national address last May on immigration reform, and Congress approved it. Of the $1.2 billion Congress approved, at least $400 million has been released.

The new Democratic majority in Congress could modify the law or withhold funding, Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar (news, bio, voting record) said.

"It's going to be difficult, but we're sure going to do everything we can," he said.

Texas' senators, both Republicans, said they expected federal officials to heed local concerns.

"I would be very concerned if they are not being listened to," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (news, bio, voting record). "We should have local input, and private property rights should be taken into account."

Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record) said he would "insist that local officials, property owners and stakeholders have a voice in how we ultimately secure the border."

Cornyn said he and Hutchison had tried to require local input in legislation authorizing the fence but failed.

McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez doubts a fence would be effective. He said he has seen people forming human ladders and jumping off international bridges into the United States in full daylight and within view of agents.

"No physical wall is going to keep people from coming in," he said. "The core of the problem is an economic issue. We have integrated all of the markets in North America, but we have failed to integrate the labor market. It's the market forces that are bringing people here to work."

Officials said Chertoff had assured them they would be consulted before any fence went up.

"We met with Secretary Chertoff and we were given a commitment that he would talk to the locals before building a wall, so we're surprised that this is happening," Salinas said. "We feel there is already a structure there, which is the Rio Grande river."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070502/ap_ ... 5QcqHMWM0F

Environmentalists fear the fence will block Rio Grande water access to endangered cats such as ocelots and jaguarundi and ruin key feeding and resting areas for migratory birds.

If environmentalists are so concerned, why don't they focus on the damage illegals are causing to thousands of indegenous desert animal wildlife habitats? I want them to study the destruction of the desert biome caused by illegals leaving their trash scattered everywhere.

I'm sorry, but the whole country doesn't revolve around the wants and desires of a few Texas border communities. It's time these folks started considering the needs of the country over their personal desires.

Originally Posted by MW

I'm sorry, but the whole country doesn't revolve around the wants and desires of a few Texas border communities. It's time these folks started considering the needs of the country over their personal desires.

And guess what, the farmers and ranchers along the border welcome the fence along with the Minute Men. This is just more BS propaganda.

May 2, 2007, 2:33PM
Border officials work to amass opposition to border fence


By KELLEY SHANNON Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press

AUSTIN — Legislators and local leaders from Texas' border region worked the state Capitol on Wednesday to generate opposition to President Bush's planned border fence, saying it's unnecessary and would hurt economic ties with Mexico.

"It's clear that our state leaders, and I'm going to say the Legislature as a whole — I can't speak for every member — is not in support of this wall. It will bring negative effects," said Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville.

The outcry came after a new map emerged showing federal plans for the border fence. Border community leaders said they were assured they would be able to give input before any fence plans went forward, but they said that never happened.

They said more Border Patrol officers and camera surveillance are better ways to use the money and that the Rio Grande provides a natural river barrier that could be more easily patrolled if thick brush were cleared from its banks.

The Customs and Border Protection map depicts a planned structure running piecemeal along a 600-mile stretch of Texas from Presidio to Brownsville.

"I think the president himself needs to get a gauge in his home state," Lucio said.

Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, a McAllen Democrat, called the proposed fence a "wall of shame."

Members of the Texas Border Coalition, consisting of border mayors, county judges and economic development commissions, met with Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on Wednesday and aides to Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick. They said both leaders offered support for their opposition to the fence.

Republican Gov. Rick Perry did not meet with the group Wednesday because his schedule was full, an aide said. In the past, Perry has said he disagrees with those who want a wall or fence along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, though he has said some fencing in urban areas makes sense.

"Building a wall along the border is not an answer to securing the border. It would create a false sense of security," said Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger. "The governor does believe that strategic fencing along high population areas makes sense."

But more manpower and other security resources — not an unmanned wall — are better options, she said.

Texas' two U.S. senators, Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, have said they want to make sure local officials and property owners have input on the plan.

No one wants border security more than Texans who live along the border, but a fence or wall isn't the way to achieve it, said Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, chairman of the Texas Border Coalition. He said a barrier constructed along the Rio Grande could affect runoff, river flow and wildlife.

It also would hurt important economic and other relationships between Texas and Mexico that have taken years to build, said state Rep. Veronica Gonzales, a McAllen Democrat. She said a fence is a short-sighted answer from the federal government, which should instead concentrate on comprehensive immigration reform.

"The wall is just an expensive solution to nothing," she said. "We best know what should happen along the border because we live there."

The group had pointed criticism for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who they said previously seemed to agree with them that a fence in Texas along the Rio Grande was not the best solution.

But a spokesman for Chertoff said Tuesday that surveillance, or a virtual fence, won't work in urban areas where illegal immigrants can more easily hide and said the federal government has delivered a consistent message to local officials.

Documents outlining the fence project show plans to build 370 miles of fence and 200 miles of vehicle barriers, such as concrete barriers, by the end of 2008. Of the 370 miles of fence, Texas is to have 153, Arizona 129, California 76, and New Mexico 12. The vehicle barriers would be mostly in Arizona and New Mexico.

Bush last year called for 700 miles of border fence, and Congress approved it. Of the $1.2 billion Congress approved, at least $400 million has been released.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/4769092.html

Environmentalists fear the fence will block Rio Grande water access to endangered cats such as ocelots and jaguarundi and ruin key feeding and resting areas for migratory birds.

Now birds can't even fly over a fence, what could possibly be next!