Nogales International
June 21, 2011
by Maggie Pingolt
Arizona has had more than 90 illegal tunnels under its border with Mexico, the most discovered in any state in the Southwest, law enforcement officials told senators this week.
Investigators have uncovered 88 in Nogales alone since 1990, accounting for more than half of the 153 tunnels found on the border.
“Tunnels are unique because it’s almost a foolproof way of getting narcotics into the United States,” said Kevin Kelly, assistant special agent in charge of the Homeland Security investigations directorate in Nogales.
He said Nogales has several things that make it attractive for tunnels: Houses are close together, ownership is often unclear and two large storm drains flow south under the city into Sonora.
Besides making tunneling easier, the short distance between Sonora and Nogales also provides a wealth of potential drop sites for smuggled goods, Kelly said.
Investigators said tunnels vary in size and sophistication — from some that only allow for one man to crawl through, to others with complete lighting and ventilation.
“It’s a cat-and-mouse game to investigate a tunnel,” Kelly said.
The Department of Homeland Security said that since 1990, officials have found 42 tunnels into San Diego, 12 to Calexico, Calif., and two to Tierra Del Sol, Calif.
In Arizona in that time, they have discovered three in San Luis, 88 in Nogales, one in Naco and three in Douglas.
“In Arizona, there’s already an existing infrastructure for smugglers to utilize,” said Tim Durst, assistant special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego.
Durst also told the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control on Wednesday that climate makes it easier to build tunnels in Arizona and Southern California.
“I think Arizona and California just have more appropriate conditions for drug smugglers to take advantage of,” he said at the hearing on prosecution of tunnel crimes along the Southwest border.
James Dinkins, executive associate director of Homeland Security Investigations, said the increased number and sophistication of tunnels is a direct response to law enforcement efforts.
“We’re literally forcing them to go underground,” Dinkins said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., co-chair of the caucus, said she has visited numerous tunnels, noting the scale and size as well as their depth — one was more than nine stories below ground, complete with ventilation and concrete floors.
“The only reason they build a tunnel is to avoid authorities,” Feinstein said. “It’s a real way of serious criminal penetration into the United States.”
Feinstein said she would introduce a bill this week to strengthen the existing Border Tunnel Protection Act of 2006 by making “the use, construction or financing of a border tunnel a conspiracy offense.”
Kelly said he welcomes the bill.
“I think anything we can do to enhance or bolster existing authorities is good for us,” he said.
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/articles/2011/06/21/news/doc4e00ba0613177268278043.txt
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Man Climbs Over New U.S./Mexico Border Fence
KFOX 14
July 6, 2011
by Ric DuPont
EL PASO, Texas -- An El Paso resident Joshua Jordan was taking pictures of the new U.S./Mexico border fence from the passenger's seat of a car while driving down Paisano Drive. Jordan said most of his out-of-state friends don’t believe how big the fence is. Jordan got more than he bargained for when his camera captured a man climbing over the fence and dropping down to the street below. The man had used a tall ladder on the Mexican side of the fence to get to the top.
The next thing Jordan saw was a second man climb up the ladder, with a bicycle, and throw the bicycle over the fence to his friend. Jordan made a U-turn to see if the man was hurt, but he saw the man riding away on the bike.
The fence is about 16 feet tall, and in some places it's even taller. The holes in the fence are too small for most people to put their fingers in and get a grip to climb.
Supervising Border Patrol agent Demetrio Guerra said between good old-fashioned border patrol work and video surveillance, agents were able to catch and detain the man who climbed over the fence.
"Just because you don't see Border Patrol out on the fence line doesn't mean we're not being vigilant and watching the border," Guerra said.
Guerra said the fence was built as a tool to assist border patrol agents and buy them more time to catch up to a person in some cases. Guerra said he’s heard of other cases where people have climbed the new fence using screw drivers and hooks.
http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/28467036/detail.html
July 6, 2011
by Ric DuPont
EL PASO, Texas -- An El Paso resident Joshua Jordan was taking pictures of the new U.S./Mexico border fence from the passenger's seat of a car while driving down Paisano Drive. Jordan said most of his out-of-state friends don’t believe how big the fence is. Jordan got more than he bargained for when his camera captured a man climbing over the fence and dropping down to the street below. The man had used a tall ladder on the Mexican side of the fence to get to the top.
The next thing Jordan saw was a second man climb up the ladder, with a bicycle, and throw the bicycle over the fence to his friend. Jordan made a U-turn to see if the man was hurt, but he saw the man riding away on the bike.
The fence is about 16 feet tall, and in some places it's even taller. The holes in the fence are too small for most people to put their fingers in and get a grip to climb.
Supervising Border Patrol agent Demetrio Guerra said between good old-fashioned border patrol work and video surveillance, agents were able to catch and detain the man who climbed over the fence.
"Just because you don't see Border Patrol out on the fence line doesn't mean we're not being vigilant and watching the border," Guerra said.
Guerra said the fence was built as a tool to assist border patrol agents and buy them more time to catch up to a person in some cases. Guerra said he’s heard of other cases where people have climbed the new fence using screw drivers and hooks.
http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/28467036/detail.html
Death tally near border up as heat takes a toll
Arizona Daily Star
July 6, 2011
by Brady McCombs
Arizona's searing summer heat has begun to take its annual toll on illegal border crossers.
The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office has handled the bodies of 15 suspected illegal immigrants in the last nine days. Nine bodies were brought to the office June 29-30, a two-day period that followed eight straight days with temperatures of 107 or higher.
The 28 total border deaths registered since June 1 - which include one handled by the Cochise County Medical Examiner's Office - are actually fewer than in any of the previous nine years over the same time period, shows the Arizona Daily Star's border-death database.
During 2010's record-setting year, 33 bodies were recovered from June 1 to July 5. There were 86 bodies recovered in June and July 2010, making it one of the deadliest two-month periods on record.
The last 16 bodies that have arrived at the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office in Tucson this summer remain unidentified.
The most recent to be positively identified was Luis Enrique Martinez Miranda, 26, who was found June 20 about 12 miles south of Interstate 8 in Pinal County, in the northern part of the Tohono O'odham Nation.
The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office handles the bodies of illegal border crossers found in Pinal and Santa Cruz counties.
As has been the case for years, many of the illegal border crossers have been discovered on the Tohono O'odham Nation, which stretches across 75 miles of U.S.-Mexico border southwest of Tucson. The nation's northern boundaries reach into Pinal County, just south of I-8.
Sergio Estrada Tejada, 37, was found about three miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border on the southeastern portion of the Tohono O'odham Nation on June 17. The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death to be probable hyperthermia.
Despite the recent increase, the border death tally for calendar year 2011 remains well behind last year's pace. The 82 border deaths since Jan. 1 are the fewest at this date since 2003, when there were 79 border deaths through the date, the Arizona Daily Star's border-death database shows. Through July 5, 2010, there had been 124 bodies recovered.
Since 2001, the bodies of more than 2,100 illegal border crossers have been recovered in Arizona's desert.
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/article_f5753533-6454-5500-9e52-dcbce5313109.html
July 6, 2011
by Brady McCombs
Arizona's searing summer heat has begun to take its annual toll on illegal border crossers.
The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office has handled the bodies of 15 suspected illegal immigrants in the last nine days. Nine bodies were brought to the office June 29-30, a two-day period that followed eight straight days with temperatures of 107 or higher.
The 28 total border deaths registered since June 1 - which include one handled by the Cochise County Medical Examiner's Office - are actually fewer than in any of the previous nine years over the same time period, shows the Arizona Daily Star's border-death database.
During 2010's record-setting year, 33 bodies were recovered from June 1 to July 5. There were 86 bodies recovered in June and July 2010, making it one of the deadliest two-month periods on record.
The last 16 bodies that have arrived at the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office in Tucson this summer remain unidentified.
The most recent to be positively identified was Luis Enrique Martinez Miranda, 26, who was found June 20 about 12 miles south of Interstate 8 in Pinal County, in the northern part of the Tohono O'odham Nation.
The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office handles the bodies of illegal border crossers found in Pinal and Santa Cruz counties.
As has been the case for years, many of the illegal border crossers have been discovered on the Tohono O'odham Nation, which stretches across 75 miles of U.S.-Mexico border southwest of Tucson. The nation's northern boundaries reach into Pinal County, just south of I-8.
Sergio Estrada Tejada, 37, was found about three miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border on the southeastern portion of the Tohono O'odham Nation on June 17. The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death to be probable hyperthermia.
Despite the recent increase, the border death tally for calendar year 2011 remains well behind last year's pace. The 82 border deaths since Jan. 1 are the fewest at this date since 2003, when there were 79 border deaths through the date, the Arizona Daily Star's border-death database shows. Through July 5, 2010, there had been 124 bodies recovered.
Since 2001, the bodies of more than 2,100 illegal border crossers have been recovered in Arizona's desert.
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/article_f5753533-6454-5500-9e52-dcbce5313109.html
Monday, July 4, 2011
Arizona Gearing Up to Raise Cash for Border Fence
Associated Press / FOX News
July 4, 2011
Arizona officials are gearing up for a July 20 launch of a website to accept donations to pay for construction of additional fencing along the state's portion of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Under legislation approved in April, the state would use donated money and inmate labor to build additional fencing along parts of the border, likely on state or privately owned property.
With illegal immigration and other border-related concerns still prominent in the state, Republican lawmakers who supported the fence legislation see the fundraising project simply as a way to pay for helping secure the border.
"It's because the federal government won't do it and because the state doesn't have the money to do it," said state Sen. Steve Smith, a Maricopa Republican lawmaker who sponsored the fence bill.
Smith said current plans call for the site to go live at 12:01 a.m. MST on July 20, the date when most laws passed during the Arizona Legislature's 2011 regular session take effect.
A kickoff event will follow that evening in Casa Grande, in Smith's legislative district. Two prominent Republican state officials, Senate President Russell Pearce and Attorney General Tom Horne, plan to participate.
Later on, there will be other launch events in Arizona, with efforts being made to line up participation by a presidential candidate to help net publicity, he said. "It's all about scheduling."
Smith is declining to publicly release the site's address in advance of the launch, saying it could confuse or frustrate potential donors.
The nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometre) U.S.-Mexico border already has about 650 miles (1,050 kilometres) of fence of one type or another, nearly half of it in Arizona. The state's border is the busiest gateway for both illegal immigrants and marijuana smuggling.
Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed the fence bill on April 28 after it easily won approval by the Republican-led Legislature on party-line votes.
While Republicans said the state has a legal and moral obligation to act, Democrats questioned the project's feasibility. They also called it a feel-good distraction from pressing for more comprehensive action on border and immigration issues.
While many facets of the project remain to be worked out, including exactly what type of fencing would be built where and at what cost, arrangements for the fundraising component aren't starting from scratch.
Smith said he's working through details to launch the site through the state's existing web-portal contract, and said the new site will be modeled after the successful site that Gov. Jan Brewer has already used for a year to collect millions of dollars of donations.
That money is being used to pay for the state's legal defense of SB1070., the controversial immigration enforcement law that was enacted in 2010. Implementation of key provisions of that law have been blocked by a federal judge pending the outcome of a legal challenge.
The fence web site, Smith said, will feature a picture of the border and a "relatively concise" description of the perceived situation -- "drugs, illegals, terrorists, so on and so on" -- to explain it to Americans across nation.
"We're going to have some bullet points on what is going on on the border," Smith said. "It's not just the migrant worker coming over.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/04/arizona-gearing-up-to-raise-cash-for-border-fence/
July 4, 2011
Arizona officials are gearing up for a July 20 launch of a website to accept donations to pay for construction of additional fencing along the state's portion of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Under legislation approved in April, the state would use donated money and inmate labor to build additional fencing along parts of the border, likely on state or privately owned property.
With illegal immigration and other border-related concerns still prominent in the state, Republican lawmakers who supported the fence legislation see the fundraising project simply as a way to pay for helping secure the border.
"It's because the federal government won't do it and because the state doesn't have the money to do it," said state Sen. Steve Smith, a Maricopa Republican lawmaker who sponsored the fence bill.
Smith said current plans call for the site to go live at 12:01 a.m. MST on July 20, the date when most laws passed during the Arizona Legislature's 2011 regular session take effect.
A kickoff event will follow that evening in Casa Grande, in Smith's legislative district. Two prominent Republican state officials, Senate President Russell Pearce and Attorney General Tom Horne, plan to participate.
Later on, there will be other launch events in Arizona, with efforts being made to line up participation by a presidential candidate to help net publicity, he said. "It's all about scheduling."
Smith is declining to publicly release the site's address in advance of the launch, saying it could confuse or frustrate potential donors.
The nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometre) U.S.-Mexico border already has about 650 miles (1,050 kilometres) of fence of one type or another, nearly half of it in Arizona. The state's border is the busiest gateway for both illegal immigrants and marijuana smuggling.
Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed the fence bill on April 28 after it easily won approval by the Republican-led Legislature on party-line votes.
While Republicans said the state has a legal and moral obligation to act, Democrats questioned the project's feasibility. They also called it a feel-good distraction from pressing for more comprehensive action on border and immigration issues.
While many facets of the project remain to be worked out, including exactly what type of fencing would be built where and at what cost, arrangements for the fundraising component aren't starting from scratch.
Smith said he's working through details to launch the site through the state's existing web-portal contract, and said the new site will be modeled after the successful site that Gov. Jan Brewer has already used for a year to collect millions of dollars of donations.
That money is being used to pay for the state's legal defense of SB1070., the controversial immigration enforcement law that was enacted in 2010. Implementation of key provisions of that law have been blocked by a federal judge pending the outcome of a legal challenge.
The fence web site, Smith said, will feature a picture of the border and a "relatively concise" description of the perceived situation -- "drugs, illegals, terrorists, so on and so on" -- to explain it to Americans across nation.
"We're going to have some bullet points on what is going on on the border," Smith said. "It's not just the migrant worker coming over.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/04/arizona-gearing-up-to-raise-cash-for-border-fence/
Friday, July 1, 2011
Border fence replacement set to wrap up July 22
Nogales International
July 1, 2011
by Jonathan Clark
Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on a border fence replacement project in Nogales that has been a technically challenging but assault-free experience for workers, authorities said Thursday.
With only a quarter-mile left to go on the 2.8-mile fence, Granite Construction is slated to wrap up the $11.6-million project on July 22, said Sabri Dikman, acting patrol agent in charge at the Nogales Border Patrol Station. Work began in early March.
Speaking at a press conference at the corner of Nelson and East International streets, Dikman called the replacement of the landing-mat barrier with a bigger, stronger bollard-style fence, “a project that is significant to the community of Nogales and the Border Patrol agents who work in Nogales.”
“This is going to be able to provide our agents the ability to see potential threats that approach the border, and be able to proactively react to those threats,” he said as a crane hoisted a panel of see-though, interconnected-tube fencing into place on the hillside behind him.
But while agents have faced assaults – especially rock-throwings – from hoodlums in Nogales, Sonora who have used the flat-panel landing-mat fence as cover, no construction workers on the project have been assaulted, Dikman said.
Mike Tatusko, projective executive for Granite Construction, confirmed that his crews have been kept well protected and safe.
“(Security) was something we addressed and were very mindful of daily, but CBP has given us great support and we haven’t had any issues,” he said.
As the old fence came down across from the Buenos Aires neighborhood on the east side of Nogales, Sonora, crowds of dozens of people would gather to watch. Tatusko said the observers came out of curiosity – or to try to salvage bits of the old fence – but didn’t abuse the workers physically or verbally.
“We had no issues whatsoever,” he said.
The rugged terrain of central Nogales presented plenty of issues, however, as the Granite crews worked to access and dig into the steep and rocky hillsides. “That’s almost a 60-percent grade right there,” Tatusko said, pointing to the hill above Nelson Street.
“In more forgiving areas, we can do up to two or three miles in a week,” he said. “When it’s situations like this, it might be two or three (eight-foot) panels a day.”
Do’s and don’ts
The new fence is grounded by a six-foot-deep concrete footer, and while there are no drainage tubes built into the footer, Tatusko said, there are drainage ways and gates built sporadically along the fence to help with runoff during coming monsoon rains.
The construction of those gates has also proved to be a challenge, as so even after the old fence was torn down, workers have had to leave a few spots covered with temporary barriers as they continue on, Dikman told the Nogales International.
“That’s a vulnerability and they certainly take advantage of it. So that’s why we’ve seen activity in those specific areas where, as they build and construct, there are some gaps,” he said. “On July 22, those will all be gone.”
Some residents east and west of town have expressed concern that a more impenetrable border barrier in Nogales will push more illegal activity into outlying areas. Dikman said the completed fence would allow the Border Patrol to focus more on those trouble spots.
“As the fence is completed, we’re able to adjust our resources to meet any potential threats to the east or the west, or the more remote areas,” he said.
Dikman also reaffirmed the Border Patrol’s hands-off approach when it comes to people who want to socialize with friends or relatives across the new see-through barrier.
“As long as they’re not passing persons or contraband across the fence, we welcome the cross-border communications,” he said.
A Sonoran reporter asked Dikman if the Border Patrol would allow artists in Mexico to hang artwork on the south side of the fence – such as the community mural painted on the landing-mat fence west of the DeConcini Port that was saved from demolition. But Dikman said his agency couldn’t allow anything to obstruct the sight lines through the fence.
“We don’t advocate … that people damage or alter the fence,” he said. “It’s owned by the United States government.”
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/articles/2011/07/01/news/doc4e0dec0099af4443536252.txt
July 1, 2011
by Jonathan Clark
Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on a border fence replacement project in Nogales that has been a technically challenging but assault-free experience for workers, authorities said Thursday.
With only a quarter-mile left to go on the 2.8-mile fence, Granite Construction is slated to wrap up the $11.6-million project on July 22, said Sabri Dikman, acting patrol agent in charge at the Nogales Border Patrol Station. Work began in early March.
Speaking at a press conference at the corner of Nelson and East International streets, Dikman called the replacement of the landing-mat barrier with a bigger, stronger bollard-style fence, “a project that is significant to the community of Nogales and the Border Patrol agents who work in Nogales.”
“This is going to be able to provide our agents the ability to see potential threats that approach the border, and be able to proactively react to those threats,” he said as a crane hoisted a panel of see-though, interconnected-tube fencing into place on the hillside behind him.
But while agents have faced assaults – especially rock-throwings – from hoodlums in Nogales, Sonora who have used the flat-panel landing-mat fence as cover, no construction workers on the project have been assaulted, Dikman said.
Mike Tatusko, projective executive for Granite Construction, confirmed that his crews have been kept well protected and safe.
“(Security) was something we addressed and were very mindful of daily, but CBP has given us great support and we haven’t had any issues,” he said.
As the old fence came down across from the Buenos Aires neighborhood on the east side of Nogales, Sonora, crowds of dozens of people would gather to watch. Tatusko said the observers came out of curiosity – or to try to salvage bits of the old fence – but didn’t abuse the workers physically or verbally.
“We had no issues whatsoever,” he said.
The rugged terrain of central Nogales presented plenty of issues, however, as the Granite crews worked to access and dig into the steep and rocky hillsides. “That’s almost a 60-percent grade right there,” Tatusko said, pointing to the hill above Nelson Street.
“In more forgiving areas, we can do up to two or three miles in a week,” he said. “When it’s situations like this, it might be two or three (eight-foot) panels a day.”
Do’s and don’ts
The new fence is grounded by a six-foot-deep concrete footer, and while there are no drainage tubes built into the footer, Tatusko said, there are drainage ways and gates built sporadically along the fence to help with runoff during coming monsoon rains.
The construction of those gates has also proved to be a challenge, as so even after the old fence was torn down, workers have had to leave a few spots covered with temporary barriers as they continue on, Dikman told the Nogales International.
“That’s a vulnerability and they certainly take advantage of it. So that’s why we’ve seen activity in those specific areas where, as they build and construct, there are some gaps,” he said. “On July 22, those will all be gone.”
Some residents east and west of town have expressed concern that a more impenetrable border barrier in Nogales will push more illegal activity into outlying areas. Dikman said the completed fence would allow the Border Patrol to focus more on those trouble spots.
“As the fence is completed, we’re able to adjust our resources to meet any potential threats to the east or the west, or the more remote areas,” he said.
Dikman also reaffirmed the Border Patrol’s hands-off approach when it comes to people who want to socialize with friends or relatives across the new see-through barrier.
“As long as they’re not passing persons or contraband across the fence, we welcome the cross-border communications,” he said.
A Sonoran reporter asked Dikman if the Border Patrol would allow artists in Mexico to hang artwork on the south side of the fence – such as the community mural painted on the landing-mat fence west of the DeConcini Port that was saved from demolition. But Dikman said his agency couldn’t allow anything to obstruct the sight lines through the fence.
“We don’t advocate … that people damage or alter the fence,” he said. “It’s owned by the United States government.”
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/articles/2011/07/01/news/doc4e0dec0099af4443536252.txt
Nogales gets a more secure border fence
Arizona Daily Star
June 30, 2011
by Daniel Gonzalez
The rusting metal wall that has divided the twin cities of Nogales for over a decade and ushered in a new era of tougher border security will soon come down.
In the next few days, the federal government will finish tearing out the old sheet-metal wall that separates Nogales, Ariz., from Nogales, Sonora, and complete the installation of a new, higher, see-through fence that officials say is safer, harder to breach and less of an eyesore. The new fence is made of closely spaced steel beams set in concrete several feet deep. The beams are connected by horizontal steel rods.
"The other fence was easier to compromise. You could get under it, over it and through it," said Agent Eric Cantu, a spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector. The sector includes Nogales.
But, like the old fence, the new structure has drawn mixed reactions in Nogales, Ariz. Some welcome the added security during a time of escalating drug-cartel violence in Mexico, while others view it as a scar on the landscape that further divides two cities that once functioned as one.
Tucson Mayor Arturo Garino said the new fence is a vast improvement in both security and appearance. He recalls when the two cities were separated by just five strands of barbed wire or a chain-link fence. But, with drug-cartel violence out of control in Mexico, he welcomes the new fencing.
"Of course a lot of people (in Nogales) would not like to have a fence at all, but times have changed after 9/11," Garino said. "It's 100 times better than what was there."
Olivia Ainza, president and CEO of the Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, does not like the new fence. Although not as "ugly" as the old fence, the new one has a "jail-like" appearance that sends a negative message to Mexicans living in Nogales on the Sonora side of the border, she said. She fears anger about the fence will discourage Mexican shoppers from coming to the Arizona side and will hurt businesses that already have seen sales drop because of tighter border security.
"I agree we have to keep our country safe," she said. "But I know we could have done better than the fence they are putting up there that is very intimidating."
Arizona's border with Mexico is 372.5 miles long. The federal government has installed 123 miles of pedestrian fencing and 183 miles of vehicle fencing at a cost of $6.5 million per mile for the pedestrian fencing and $1.8 million per mile for the vehicle fencing, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In May, Arizona lawmakers passed a bill authorizing the state to begin raising money and securing permission from public and private landowners to build a fence along areas of the border still unprotected. The new law takes effect July 20.
The old fence in downtown Nogales was cobbled together in the mid-1990s from sheets of interlocking steel that were left over from what the military used to build temporary runways for aircraft. The fence was part of a strategy to stem illegal immigration in urban areas in El Paso, San Diego and Tucson. The strategy was launched in response to a wave of illegal immigration following the collapse of the peso in Mexico. In addition to deploying agents directly to the border, the federal government erected walls and fencing.
But the old fence was easy to cut through with a cutting torch. Agents spent much of their time repairing holes. Because it was solid, the wall also shielded from view the activities of illegal immigrants on the Mexican side, giving them time to climb over and dash into downtown Nogales undetected, Cantu said.
In April, the federal government began installing new fencing in Nogales, part of more than 650 miles of new barriers mandated by Congress to tighten border security.
The new fence will stretch 2.8 miles from one end of Nogales to the other. Composed of perpendicular beams constructed from a triple layer of rebar, concrete and steel, the fence will average 18 to 20 feet in height and soar as high as 30 feet in some places - three times as high as the old 10- to 12-foot wall, Cantu said.
The fence will have an extra barrier on top to make it harder to climb over, Cantu said.
Although the Border Patrol has billed the new fence as harder to scale, a video posted on YouTube in January showed two women climbing to the top in less than 18 seconds.
Officials said the fence also should better protect border agents. Because agents can see through it, they are less likely to be struck by rock-throwers on the other side, officials said.
As border security has increased, agents patrolling the wall had become frequent targets from rock-throwing assailants on the Mexican side. From Oct. 1, 2010, through May 31, agents working in the Tucson Sector have been assaulted 188 times, Cantu said. The majority of those assaults involved rocks thrown at agents in the Nogales area, he said.
"We are not talking about little pebbles but brick-size rocks that can cause serious injuries and even death," he said.
In March 2009, an agent investigating a hole in the fence was struck by a large piece of cinder block dropped from above by an assailant on the Mexican side. The agent suffered cuts on his forehead, nose and chest.
"They do that because of frustration," Cantu said. "As we become more effective in preventing illegal crossings and drugs, they are going to get more frustrated. And one of the ways they are going to vent their frustration is by throwing rocks."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/06/30/20110630nogales-border-fence-replacement.html
June 30, 2011
by Daniel Gonzalez
The rusting metal wall that has divided the twin cities of Nogales for over a decade and ushered in a new era of tougher border security will soon come down.
In the next few days, the federal government will finish tearing out the old sheet-metal wall that separates Nogales, Ariz., from Nogales, Sonora, and complete the installation of a new, higher, see-through fence that officials say is safer, harder to breach and less of an eyesore. The new fence is made of closely spaced steel beams set in concrete several feet deep. The beams are connected by horizontal steel rods.
"The other fence was easier to compromise. You could get under it, over it and through it," said Agent Eric Cantu, a spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector. The sector includes Nogales.
But, like the old fence, the new structure has drawn mixed reactions in Nogales, Ariz. Some welcome the added security during a time of escalating drug-cartel violence in Mexico, while others view it as a scar on the landscape that further divides two cities that once functioned as one.
Tucson Mayor Arturo Garino said the new fence is a vast improvement in both security and appearance. He recalls when the two cities were separated by just five strands of barbed wire or a chain-link fence. But, with drug-cartel violence out of control in Mexico, he welcomes the new fencing.
"Of course a lot of people (in Nogales) would not like to have a fence at all, but times have changed after 9/11," Garino said. "It's 100 times better than what was there."
Olivia Ainza, president and CEO of the Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, does not like the new fence. Although not as "ugly" as the old fence, the new one has a "jail-like" appearance that sends a negative message to Mexicans living in Nogales on the Sonora side of the border, she said. She fears anger about the fence will discourage Mexican shoppers from coming to the Arizona side and will hurt businesses that already have seen sales drop because of tighter border security.
"I agree we have to keep our country safe," she said. "But I know we could have done better than the fence they are putting up there that is very intimidating."
Arizona's border with Mexico is 372.5 miles long. The federal government has installed 123 miles of pedestrian fencing and 183 miles of vehicle fencing at a cost of $6.5 million per mile for the pedestrian fencing and $1.8 million per mile for the vehicle fencing, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In May, Arizona lawmakers passed a bill authorizing the state to begin raising money and securing permission from public and private landowners to build a fence along areas of the border still unprotected. The new law takes effect July 20.
The old fence in downtown Nogales was cobbled together in the mid-1990s from sheets of interlocking steel that were left over from what the military used to build temporary runways for aircraft. The fence was part of a strategy to stem illegal immigration in urban areas in El Paso, San Diego and Tucson. The strategy was launched in response to a wave of illegal immigration following the collapse of the peso in Mexico. In addition to deploying agents directly to the border, the federal government erected walls and fencing.
But the old fence was easy to cut through with a cutting torch. Agents spent much of their time repairing holes. Because it was solid, the wall also shielded from view the activities of illegal immigrants on the Mexican side, giving them time to climb over and dash into downtown Nogales undetected, Cantu said.
In April, the federal government began installing new fencing in Nogales, part of more than 650 miles of new barriers mandated by Congress to tighten border security.
The new fence will stretch 2.8 miles from one end of Nogales to the other. Composed of perpendicular beams constructed from a triple layer of rebar, concrete and steel, the fence will average 18 to 20 feet in height and soar as high as 30 feet in some places - three times as high as the old 10- to 12-foot wall, Cantu said.
The fence will have an extra barrier on top to make it harder to climb over, Cantu said.
Although the Border Patrol has billed the new fence as harder to scale, a video posted on YouTube in January showed two women climbing to the top in less than 18 seconds.
Officials said the fence also should better protect border agents. Because agents can see through it, they are less likely to be struck by rock-throwers on the other side, officials said.
As border security has increased, agents patrolling the wall had become frequent targets from rock-throwing assailants on the Mexican side. From Oct. 1, 2010, through May 31, agents working in the Tucson Sector have been assaulted 188 times, Cantu said. The majority of those assaults involved rocks thrown at agents in the Nogales area, he said.
"We are not talking about little pebbles but brick-size rocks that can cause serious injuries and even death," he said.
In March 2009, an agent investigating a hole in the fence was struck by a large piece of cinder block dropped from above by an assailant on the Mexican side. The agent suffered cuts on his forehead, nose and chest.
"They do that because of frustration," Cantu said. "As we become more effective in preventing illegal crossings and drugs, they are going to get more frustrated. And one of the ways they are going to vent their frustration is by throwing rocks."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/06/30/20110630nogales-border-fence-replacement.html
Nogales officials split on new border wall
United Press International
June 30, 2011
NOGALES, Ariz., June 30 (UPI) -- A rusty metal wall will be replaced by a high-tech, see-through fence along the U.S.-Mexico border between Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora, officials say.
It's meant to be both more aesthetically pleasing and bolster border security, but some see it as just a bigger, more impregnable symbol of what further divides, rather than unites, people on the two sides, The Arizona Republic reports.
Tucson Mayor Arturo Garino said the new fence, with steel beams set in concrete, improves security and looks much better than the barbed wire or chain-link fence that once divided the cities.
"Of course, a lot of people (in Nogales) would not like to have a fence at all, but times have changed after 9/11," Garino said. "It's 100 times better than what was there."
Olivia Ainza, president and chief executive of the Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, called the new fence "ugly" and said its "jail-like" look sends a negative message to Mexicans on the Sonora side of the border, part of the 372 1/2 miles of U.S.-Mexico divide bordering Arizona.
Anger among Mexicans could keep them from crossing into Arizona to shop, hurting U.S. businesses, Ainza said.
"I agree we have to keep our country safe," she said. "But I know we could have done better than the fence they are putting up there that is very intimidating."
Agent Eric Cantu, a spokesman for the U.S. Border control, said the old fence made it much easier than the new one does to cross the border.
"The other fence was easier to compromise. You could get under it, over it and through it," Cantu said.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/06/30/Nogales-officials-split-on-new-border-wall/UPI-67421309476991/
June 30, 2011
NOGALES, Ariz., June 30 (UPI) -- A rusty metal wall will be replaced by a high-tech, see-through fence along the U.S.-Mexico border between Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora, officials say.
It's meant to be both more aesthetically pleasing and bolster border security, but some see it as just a bigger, more impregnable symbol of what further divides, rather than unites, people on the two sides, The Arizona Republic reports.
Tucson Mayor Arturo Garino said the new fence, with steel beams set in concrete, improves security and looks much better than the barbed wire or chain-link fence that once divided the cities.
"Of course, a lot of people (in Nogales) would not like to have a fence at all, but times have changed after 9/11," Garino said. "It's 100 times better than what was there."
Olivia Ainza, president and chief executive of the Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, called the new fence "ugly" and said its "jail-like" look sends a negative message to Mexicans on the Sonora side of the border, part of the 372 1/2 miles of U.S.-Mexico divide bordering Arizona.
Anger among Mexicans could keep them from crossing into Arizona to shop, hurting U.S. businesses, Ainza said.
"I agree we have to keep our country safe," she said. "But I know we could have done better than the fence they are putting up there that is very intimidating."
Agent Eric Cantu, a spokesman for the U.S. Border control, said the old fence made it much easier than the new one does to cross the border.
"The other fence was easier to compromise. You could get under it, over it and through it," Cantu said.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/06/30/Nogales-officials-split-on-new-border-wall/UPI-67421309476991/
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