June 12, 2009
by Lisa Cortez
GRANJENO - Residents say when the new border wall was constructed, planned gaps provided smugglers access to the country. One of those gaps is in the middle of town.
The city fought to keep the wall from cutting across their town, they won that fight. The government instead backed the wall up behind improved levees.
Now they say with the gap in the wall in town, they've seen an increase in traffic.
"We see a lot of things. There's a lot of illegal activity going on here in our small town," says Napoleon Garza.
By going through Granjeno, smugglers can get from the Rio Grande to Shary Road.
The U.S. Border Patrol says the gap is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
"If people are seeing more, it could be they see more activity in a specific area away from the community which it was what we hoped," says John Lopez, the U.S. Border Patrol Spokesperson.
Lopez says in fact, apprehensions are down in the Valley and in the area around Granjeno, proving there's less overall activity.
He does say if people are concerned about a specific area they should call authorities to alert them to the problem.
http://www.krgv.com/news/local/story/City-Says-Border-Wall-Increasing-Crime/vcgfxqeD7U2v02tY_JTuyQ.cspx
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