At Border Security Expo, companies keep eyes on lucrative U.S. market

Los Angeles Times
March 19, 2014
by Cindy Carcamo

PHOENIX — A fake barrel cactus with a camera mounted inside. An unmanned robot hardy enough to explore underground drug tunnels. Software that recognizes faces while tapping into federal databases.

"We give them a tasting here," said Steve Roser, vice president of Elbit Systems of America, who was hawking drones this week at the annual Border Security Expo, a high-tech bazaar aimed at those who police the criminal shadow lands along international frontiers. "We get them a little interested."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection last year spent more than $300 million for border security, fencing infrastructure and technology, and has requested appropriations totaling nearly $400 million for 2015.

But the border bonanza may only be beginning. An immigration reform plan debated in Congress last year called for raising the ante by several orders of magnitude, spending as much as $46 billion on heightened border security, including $3.2 billion on sophisticated surveillance equipment.

The legislation stalled, but that hasn't stopped the growth of the gadget-heavy industry on display here at what is billed as the largest exhibit of border security equipment in the world.

Attendees from 14 nations surveyed gizmos from nearly 100 manufacturers aimed at "disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal organizations" — and tapping into what is seen as an increasingly lucrative U.S. market.

With worldwide demand rising for security products, "there's more development in this field for devices that help people protect themselves," said Enrique H. Herrera Martinez, chief executive of TPS Global, which develops armored vehicles.

Men and women in suits and law enforcement uniforms milled around a convention hall during the two-day conference that ended Wednesday, ogling hundreds of high-tech instruments designed to detect humans — be they drug smugglers, immigrants or others — making their way into a country.

Gregory Schultz, who co-owns a Tucson-based business that manufactures clothing that stops electricity from penetrating a body, said his product, Thorshield, could help save border agents at risk of having their stun guns seized by assailants and used against them.

Schultz covered his hand in the cotton-like material, took up a stun gun and fired repeatedly.

"It's a highly conductive fabric that actually short-circuits stun guns and Tasers," he said without blinking.

Roser said his company's drones were in use along the Afghan and Israeli borders.

The unmanned aerial vehicle, which has a camera able to move any which way, is compact enough to carry in a backpack. It's light enough to launch by hand and can soar up to 3,000 feet.

Roser said expos such as the one in Phoenix were crucial, giving him the opportunity to meet the movers, shakers and purse-string holders in high levels of the federal government.

Matthew C. Allen, a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said government must improve its technological expertise because criminals were doing the same thing. "We have adaptable adversaries," he said.

But this festival of peddling and purchasing comes at a time when President Obama and congressional Republicans are at odds about a budget and already are ordering a $500-billion cut to defense spending over the next decade.

And it's exactly these types of surveillance gadgets that worry people like Chris Rickerd, policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, who wonders whether criminals will be the only ones in these high-tech surveillance sights.

"It's creating a warlike setting. There is a real question of fiscal responsibility, but also quality of life in border communities," he said. "There's not enough oversight."

Rickerd said there needs to be a thorough evaluation of whether the technology now in place is working before purchasing more gadgets.

He pointed to the Secure Border Initiative Network, a $1-billion system with a high error rate that ended up covering only a 53-mile stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border with high-tech cameras, radar and vibration sensors.

In 2011, officials replaced it with the Arizona Border Surveillance Technology Plan, a $700-million high-tech effort to boost border security. The Government Accountability Office in a report this month found that the effort had no evaluation system, so there's no way to show whether new camera towers or motion sensors have helped Border Patrol agents.

"Rolling out projects like that is really concerning," Rickerd said. "It's a waste of money."

Still, there was no shortage at this week's expo of opportunities for spending money.

Kurt Ludwigsen held a faux tree stump in one hand and a fake small cactus in the other. These polyurethane concealments, some as tall as 7 feet, can be used for different purposes but mainly are designed to house spy cameras that can be wired to another location or send data to a smartphone.

"Specifically for the border what you're looking to do is … drop these every thousand yards all along the way and have that digital feed come back to you," Ludwigsen said.

Perhaps the most eye-catching exhibit was a bullet-riddled 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee that used to belong to Minerva Bautista Gomez, security chief for the Mexican state of Michoacan. Drug cartel members attacked the SUV in 2010 with guns and grenades.

"It took 14 minutes of nonstop fire," said Patricio Canavati, manager of operations in Texas for TPS Global. There were 2,700 bullet shells found at the scene, Canavati said. "Thank God she walked away with only minor scratches and bruises."

The company, which is headquartered in Mexico, opened its first U.S. office about a year ago, Herrera Martinez said.

He's optimistic about tapping into the American market.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ff-border-security-20140320,0,536970.story#axzz2wYfshQza

Report: Feds wasted $69 million on border fence

Orange County Register
December 6, 2011
by Cincy Carcamo

Border officials wasted $69 million of taxpayer money after they bought more steel than they needed to build the fence along United States and Mexico border, according to a report by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security.

Customs and Border Protection completed nearly 299 miles of fencing at a cost of $1.2 billion after The Secure Fence Act of 2006 required the agency to put up a fence in areas along the southwest border in California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, according to the report released on Monday. The work was done beginning in 2006 and through the time of the federal audit, which ended in April, the report said.

However, the same report states that the agency purchased 27,557 tons – about $44 million worth – of extra steel it didn't need. The agency also incurred millions of dollars in extra storage costs because it failed to move the remaining steel to a government facility for more than two years after the original storage contract expired, the report said.

The agency purchased its steel based on an estimate before legally acquiring land or meeting international treaty obligations, the audit discovered. In March 2008, The agency instructed the prime contractor to purchase approximately 145,000 tons of steel before finalizing fence designs. The agency ended up paying for $9.8 million in additional storage costs.

Customs and Border Protection officials took issue with some of the report's findings, which they say were not supported by the documentation.

The agency was faced with strict time constraints and was urgently trying to get the program started and needed to obtain large quantities of steel, CBP officials said in a rebuttal in the auditor report.

"As a result, the selection of the subcontractor with a proven record to deliver the required large quantities of steel under tight time constraints was made in accordance to the "best value" criterion instead of a "lowest cost." CBP considers that the contractor made a valid management decision," according to the CBP rebuttal.

While the federal auditors said they recognized the constraints placed on the agency by The Secure Fence Act of 2006, they maintained that if the agency had legally acquired the land and met international treaty obligations before it purchased the steel, it would have reduced the cost to purchase and store the steel.

The audit – which took place between October 2010 and April – also details what officials described as the following mistakes:

The agency lacked effective contract oversight during the project and ended up paying invoices late and didn't reconcile invoices to receiving documents
Officials didn't perform a thorough review of the contractor's selection of a higher-priced subcontractor and failed to document the reasons for its approval of the subcontractor.

In September 2009, agency officials purchased 34 tons of steel for $23,000, even though it had significant quantities of the same steel already in storage.
The report stated that the combination of missteps resulted "in additional expenditures of about $69 million that could have been put to better use."

In response to the audit, CBP officials said they issued an alert to all their contractors, letting them know that they need to perform adequate subcontract reviews and provide appropriate data.

CBP ended up moving the remaining steel inventory to a government-owned site in Texas in late March, the audit report stated. The remaining structural steel is now being used for maintenance and some new construction work.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/steel-330219-agency-report.html

Lawyers: Border fence not U.S. tax-deductible

Arizona Business Gazette
July 28, 2011
by Howard Fischer


The prime mover behind the fund to have the state build its own border fence is telling would-be donors they may be able to get a tax deduction out of the whole thing.

But a couple of attorneys with an expertise in tax law say those who decide to list the donations, and reduce what they owe the federal and state government, could wind up with a rude surprise.

The state website set up by Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, includes a statement from state Comptroller D. Clark Partridge declaring that, under the Internal Revenue Code, the definition of a charity includes contributions made to a state "if such gift is made exclusively for public purposes." Partridge said Arizona law defines charitable contributions the same as federal rules.

Smith said that, legally speaking, he cannot tell someone that a specific donation qualifies as deductible.

"When you read the comptroller's letter, there's a precedent out there that when you give to a state or a subdivision of - which clearly this would be - it's tax-deductible," he said. "They pretty much say it in black and white."

Partridge, however, takes pains to ensure he does not go that far.

"Although it is not the function of the state to give legal or tax advice, a donation made to the state of Arizona to support a public purpose may qualify as a deduction in determining the donor's federal and Arizona taxable income," he wrote. "Donors should consult with their legal and/or tax advisers for guidance."

Attorney and tax practitioner Bob Kamman said that, on the surface, donations for the state to build a wall would appear to qualify. But, he said, the legislation setting up the fund is not clear enough to assure the Internal Revenue Service, which will review the tax returns, that the money really is going to the state.

He pointed out that the law establishes the Border Security Trust Fund, administered by the treasurer. And the state can be the beneficiary of this fund.

But he also said that the legislation allows Arizona to enter a compact with other border states to pool resources.

In that case, Kamman said, the compact also could be a beneficiary. But the compact organization, unlike the state, does not automatically have tax-exempt status and would have to apply for such a designation.

Kamman said the IRS would be likely to grant it tax-exempt status.

"But that process may take years and may not be retroactive," he said. "I would not assure my clients that gifts to the Border Security Trust Fund, even though administered by the Arizona state treasurer, are deductible on their federal income-tax returns."

That also is the assessment of attorney and tax specialist David Kozak.

He said the whole idea behind the deduction for gifts to governments is largely to benefit those who make donations, like land for public schools, parks and fire stations. He said there is no real precedent among tax-law cases on whether a border fence would qualify.

But Kozak's reasoning in warning off clients goes beyond the tax code itself. He said the whole thing could take on political implications.

He said the deduction is likely to be questioned.

"Assuming the administration and the (U.S.) Treasury is not happy about the border fence - which apparently they're not - it's really easy for them to just deny the deduction," Kozak said. "And then, it will go to trial."

Ultimately, he said, whoever loses there will take the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"And you can guess as well as anyone else what they're going to do," Kozak said. "They're generally thought of as the most liberal of any court of appeals."

At that point, he said, the taxpayer is going to have to make a decision.

"If anyone has enough money in this to make it worth their while, it will go up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court," Kozak said. "But that's years down the road."

He said that, for most taxpayers, the amount of money they would save by taking a deduction on a border-fence donation would not be worth the legal fees involved.

http://www.azcentral.com/business/abg/articles/2011/07/28/20110728abg-borderfence0728.html

$24.4M for Arizona fence repairs

Arizona Daily Star
July 28, 2011
by Brady McCombs

Border fences, roads and lighting are not only expensive to build, they are costly to repair and maintain.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a $24.4 million contract to a private firm to perform repairs and maintenance on border barriers, roads, lighting and electrical systems along Arizona’s border with Mexico, announced Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ office.

The contract is the largest of four regionally based agreements that Customs and Border Protection has to maintain fences and roads, said Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Jenny Burke.

It is a one year contract for $7.7 million with two additional one-year options that would make it worth $24.4 million, she said.

The contact — awarded to Houston-based Kellog Brown & Root — includes repairs and maintenance of five areas:

• Fences and gates

• Roads and bridges

• Lighting and electrical systems

• Drainage and grates

• Vegetation control and debris removal

Giffords’ chief of staff, Pia Carusone, applauded the contract, noting that it’s essential that border infrastructure be properly and fully maintained.

Customs and Border Protection agency spends an estimated $97 million annually on this work across the border, Burke said. The 20-year life-cycle costs of maintaining the fences, roads, lighting is estimated at about $6.5 billion, the Government Accountability Office reported in 2009.

The federal government spent $2.4 billion to build 264 miles of pedestrian fencing and 226 miles of vehicle barriers from 2004-2009, the GAO has found. Today, there are a total of 350 miles of pedestrian fences and 299 miles of vehicle barriers along the nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

More than four-fifths of Arizona's 378 miles of Mexican border have some type of border barrier. There are 123 miles of pedestrian fences, 12- to 25-foot-high barriers designed to stop, or at least slow down, people. There are another 183 miles of vehicle barriers, waist- to chest-high barricades designed to stop cars.

It cost between $2.6 million to $7.4 million per mile to build the new barriers in Arizona. The most recent project, replacing 2.8 miles of old fence in Nogales, cost $4.14 million per mile.

Customs and Border Protection officials acknowledge that fences are not a panacea, but say they help deter, slow and funnel traffic. The impact of barriers on illegal immigration and drug smuggling is unknown because it has not been measured, according to a September 2009 GAO report.

The buildup of fences and roads along the border could have environmental consequences, too. Fencing has caused flooding and erosion, and it could be fragmenting wildlife habitat.

http://azstarnet.com/news/blogs/border-boletin/article_9951e1ee-b886-11e0-83b4-001cc4c03286.html

CBP announces five new border infrastructure projects in Nogales

Nogales International
November 11, 2010

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is set to break ground on five infrastructure projects in Nogales during the next six months. The ambitious plan calls for simultaneously upgrading downtown pedestrian crossings, building nearly seven miles of new access roads, and replacing the city’s landing-mat border fence.

CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin, who announced the projects during a community meeting Thursday at City Hall, called the construction plans “proof of progress” toward securing the border.

“Building a strong infrastructure, together with the dedication of agents, together with the technology, together with the delivery of consequences to those who violate our laws, is the best way for us to secure this border,” Bersin said.

According to CBP Chief of Staff Marco Lopez, the five projects carry a combined price tag of $41 million, and all are scheduled to be completed by September 2011.

http://www.nogalesinternational.com/articles/2010/11/11/news/breaking_news/doc4cdc86c60fa9e898840558.txt

Costly virtual border fence in tatters

Los Angeles Times
October 22, 2010
by Brian Bennett

Reporting from Washington — The Department of Homeland Security, positioning itself to cut its losses on a so-called invisible fence along the U.S.- Mexico border, has decided not to exercise a one-year option for Boeing to continue work on the troubled multibillion-dollar project involving high-tech cameras, radar and vibration sensors.

The result, after an investment of more than $1 billion, may be a system with only 53 miles of unreliable coverage along the nearly 2,000-mile border.

The virtual fence was intended to link advanced monitoring technologies to command centers for Border Patrol to identify and thwart human trafficking and drug smuggling. But from the beginning, the program has been plagued by missed deadlines and the limitations of existing electronics in rugged, unpredictable wilderness where high winds and a tumbleweed can be enough to trigger an alarm.

Homeland Security officials decided on Sept. 21 not to invoke the department's option with Boeing, the principle contractor on the project, and instead extended the deal only to mid-November, Boeing officials confirmed this week. Boeing has charged the department more than $850 million since the project began in 2006.

The government has not released an independent assessment of the program completed in July, but with the two-month Boeing extension about to run out, several members of Congress expect the Homeland Security Department to rule soon on the fate of the invisible fence, the high-tech portion of the $4.4-billion Secure Border Initiative.

Homeland Security spokesman Matt Chandler would only say that a new way forward for the program "is expected shortly."

But given that the virtual fence has yet to pass muster even in the 53-mile test area — two sections in Arizona that officials acknowledge won't be fully operational until 2013 — and the government's lack of interest in extending Boeing's contract, most do not expect the department to invest billions more in a project that has continually disappointed.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he hoped Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano would act soon. "The program is headed in the wrong direction," Thompson said.

"It would be a great shame to scrap SBInet," said Rep. Michael McCaul (R- Texas), who has encouraged the department to bring to the Southwest the technology the U.S. military is using on the Afghanistan- Pakistan border. "Technology is key to solving these border issues."

Even as scrutiny of the program has increased in the last year, Boeing has not provided accurate information on the progress of the program, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released Oct. 18. The study found an unusually high number of errors in the data Boeing gave to the Homeland Security Department.

A spokeswoman for Boeing said the company had "worked closely with Customs and Border Protection to overcome past performance and management challenges." She added that Boeing was committed to completing the testing and delivery of the system at the Tucson and Ajo, Ariz., stations, which comprise the 53-mile test zones.

Some of the technology, such as remote cameras, night-vision video and mobile surveillance, is being used by agents in the Arizona test areas, which see a high level of cross-border traffic. But the effectiveness is far from what was requested by Homeland Security officials and promised by Boeing when the project began.

Daytime cameras are able to monitor only half of the distance expected. Ground sensors can identify off-road vehicles, but not humans, as initially envisioned by the government.

"It turned out to be a harder technological problem than we ever anticipated," said Mark Borkowski, executive director of the electronic fence program at the Homeland Security Department, earlier this year. "We thought it would be very easy, and it wasn't."

Congress was sold on the initiative as a way to combine newfangled gadgetry with old-fashioned fences to secure the entire expanse of the U.S. border with Mexico. Physical fencing has been installed over 600 miles of terrain under the program. But the technological portion, called SBInet, has languished.

Randolph C. Hite, who monitors the program as GAO director for information technology architecture systems, praised Homeland Security officials' decision to extend Boeing's contract on a short-term basis while it takes a close look at the program's worthiness.

"I think it is a prudent step," Hite said.

In the meantime, Homeland Security spokesman Chandler said Customs and Border Protection would determine "if there are alternatives that may more efficiently, effectively and economically meet our nation's border security needs."

Trouble with the invisible fence began in the design phase, when the Homeland Security Department set demands for the technology that surpassed what was available at the time. The department required, for example, that the system help Border Patrol agents be in position to apprehend 90% of the incursions over the border, but the technology has achieved only a fraction of that goal. Citing problems with the program, Napolitano announced in March that she was freezing funding to the initiative outside of Arizona.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-invisible-fence-20101022,0,5546525.story

Senators: DHS isn't improving management fast enough

Government Executive
September 30, 2010
by Katherine McIntire Peters

While Homeland Security Department officials have improved the way they buy technology and manage money and staff, DHS continues to confront major management problems and is unlikely to be removed from the Government Accountability Office's high-risk list anytime soon.

"Unfortunately, progress has been slower than many expected and than any of us would like to see," said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's panel on oversight of government management.

At a hearing Thursday he acknowledged improvements in leadership and management, but doubted they would be enough to warrant taking the department off GAO's list of agencies most at risk for waste, fraud and abuse.

"Many high-cost projects have been initiated with too little analysis, planning and follow-up, costing millions of taxpayer dollars and impacting the agency's mission," he said, singling out for specific criticism the Secure Border Initiative's electronic fence, known as SBInet. The program has experienced multiple setbacks, including cost overruns and schedule delays, and has failed to perform as expected.

In addition, Homeland Security has struggled to integrate the finance and accounting systems of its component agencies since it was formed in 2003.

Cathleen Berrick, GAO's managing director for homeland security and justice issues, said the management shortfalls have had a significant effect on missions. A number of major programs the department has tried to deploy, including SBInet and the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program known as US VISIT, have failed to meet performance and cost and schedule expectations.

"They were either delayed or never deployed to the field, so there's a direct correlation between how the department is managed and how successful [it is] in implementing the mission," Berrick said.

Deputy Secretary Jane Hall Lute said DHS has undertaken a number of significant actions to improve management across the department. Lute earlier this year initiated a strategic management approach focused on enhancing the people, structures and processes necessary to meet mission goals.

That initiative was centered on improving the acquisition process, financial management and personnel reform -- making sure the right people were in the right positions with a proper balance between civil servants and contract employees.

To that end, DHS has aligned account structures to better compare personnel costs and other factors across the department. "It's hard to talk about an integrated department if we don't count personnel or acquisition and investment or [operation and maintenance] costs in the same way," Lute said.

"In addition, we have reevaluated every single performance measure guiding the department. We've looked at all 180-odd performance measures, and we have recast them in ways that are plain language indicators of what the value proposition is in the department for money that's being allocated. We think this will be a much more sensible approach to performance metrics," Lute said.

Berrick said the new and revised performance measures have been a key improvement.

"I do think DHS is laying the groundwork [for improving management]. They do have good plans in place in many of these areas," Berrick said. The key will be implementing those plans, she added.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0910/093010kp1.htm

Border Patrol gives contract to firm stocked with former insiders

Los Angeles Times
September 21, 2010
by Ken Dilanian

The Border Patrol wants its leaders to talk to one another, and the agency is willing to pay some former government employees nearly half a million dollars to help make that happen.

In an example of how common it has become for government agencies to outsource seemingly routine tasks to former officials, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has awarded a "strategic consulting" contract worth up to $481,000 over five years to a small firm staffed by former agency insiders.

One of the three major tasks outlined in the deal is to "facilitate discussions among senior Border Patrol leaders" at conferences near the agency headquarters in Washington, according to the contract documents. The fees work out to about $240 an hour — not including travel expenses or the cost of the conferences.

Among those who will benefit from the contract are the agency's former commissioner and the husband of a current agency spokeswoman. It's legal as long as the officials observe a one-year ban on landing work from their former agency.

"It really is just contracting as usual," said Allison Stanger, a Middlebury College professor who detailed the explosive growth of government contracting in her 2009 book "One Nation Under Contract." "When contractors are doing so much of the work of government, these sorts of private companies are seen as extensions of government. When former agency employees are involved, the lines are blurred even further."

In a statement, Homeland Security Department spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said the contract was intended to "solicit independent, expert input for CBP's ongoing efforts to design a 21st century border security strategic framework," and that the agency "will not utilize this or any other contracts to organize conferences for CBP officials."

The contract documents say the consultants will facilitate discussions at the conferences, not organize them.

In July, the agency requested proposals for strategic consulting. The request sought three senior consultants for a total of 389 hours a year, with four years of renewable options.

The consultants' role is to help Border Patrol leaders "discuss strategy, policy, outreach, development and the delivery of a unified corporate direction and message," the documents said.

After a competition, the contract was awarded to Sentinel HS Group, a 12-person company that includes Robert C. Bonner, commissioner of U.S. Customs and then U.S. Customs and Border Protection from September 2001 to November 2005.

The firm, which reported annual revenue of $3.2 million in contract documents signed last week, was founded by one of Bonner's top aides and includes three other former agency officials.

Among the firm's "senior consultants" is Michael Ivahnenko, who worked at the border agency from November 2003 to January 2008. He is the husband of Kelly Ivahnenko, a Customs and Border Protection public affairs officer based in Washington.

Kelly Ivahnenko said in an e-mail that she played no role in the contract award and did not speak to any agency decision-makers about it.

In addition to Michael Ivahnenko, Sentinel Chief Executive Brian Goebel said he would work as one of the agency's other two senior consultants, along with Joshua Kussman, a former senior policy advisor at the agency.

Goebel, who said he was speaking for all members of the firm, said Sentinel won the contract through "fair and open competition."

"There are circumstances in which the government needs outside assistance," he said. "From our vantage point, there are people who bring specialized knowledge. … Sometimes it's a question of extra arms and legs, to help people who have to do their day job."

Goebel said he worked as an advisor to Bonner at the agency in 2001.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-conference-contract-20100921,0,4565724.story

Leaders blame lost business deals on border fence

November 2, 2009
KGBT Channel 4 news
by Rafael Carranza

BROWNSVILLE -- The controversy over the erection of a border fence continues with business groups saying it has a negative impact, while Border Patrol insists it is vital for security.

Border Patrol said the fence is near completion in the Rio Grande Valley. So far, 45 miles out of the planned 52.12 miles have been completed.

However, city and economic development groups said the wall is breaking some business deals for the area.

"This wall killed a multi million dollar development, residential development and commercial development because the land is now inside the wall which makes it worthless," said Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada.

He added that the fence goes “against the principles established by NAFTA.”

One Brownsville resident with the Brownsville Economic Development Council is also blaming the face for the loss of another multi-million dollar project.

"It was a project in the retail sector, they were planning to build some stores along the river levee, incorporate the river with that one project," Salinas said.

The Brownsville business expert said the retail project would have been substantial for the city.

He was unable to provide numbers, but he said it was comparable to a mall.

"It could be several million dollars in sales tax revenue that the City of Brownsville will not be getting, pretty much because of the border wall," he said.

But the Border Patrol said the fence is extremely important for the region's safety.

Regional Border Patrol Spokesman Juan Lopez said the fence is already bringing benefits.

He said Border Patrol agents are already seeing a 21 percent decrease in apprehensions so far, compared to this same time last year.

Meanwhile, Salinas said the business in the region will adapt to the fence.

"We're just going to have to learn to live with this wall that we have here on the border," he said.

http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=371266