Brownsville Herald
November 20, 2008
Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff has become a household name in the Rio Grande Valley during the last two years, a result of his prominent role in the implementation of border security policies in South Texas.
It's no wonder, then, that Valley leaders and activists are paying close attention to the appointment of Chertoff's replacement, a position that now looks to be filled by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.
As the governor of a border state and an occasional critic of the border fence, Napolitano has already made a favorable impression on the critics of her predecessor.
"Following Secretary Chertoff's tenure, anyone that President Obama selects will be an improvement," said Scott Nicol of the No Border Wall Coalition. "Hopefully Governor Napolitano's experience in Arizona has shown her that the border wall is a complete disaster."
Since its inception in 2001, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has quickly become the most visible Cabinet department on the U.S.-Mexico border. The U.S. Border Patrol, Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are all under the helm of DHS.
Napolitano's gubernatorial experience in Arizona will serve her well on border issues, many local leaders say, but there are still questions about how she'll approach issues specific to South Texas.
"She might be sensitive to the needs of the border, but it's a different situation here," said Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos. "In Arizona, they've got a chalk line for a border. We've got a river."
With 17 miles of border fencing still to be built in Cameron County, Napolitano's stance on the barrier could be tested early in her tenure. Though she's unlikely to unilaterally halt the fence's construction, border residents hope she will stress the department's willingness to consult with affected landowners and political entities.
"We would expect the next secretary of Homeland Security to sit down and consult with us in good faith," said Julie Hillrichs, spokeswoman for the Texas Border Coalition. "It would be a welcome change from the current administration."
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/border_92031___article.html/chertoff_napolitano.html
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Governor of Arizona Is in Line for Cabinet
New York Times
November 20, 2008
All along, while casting a skeptical eye on the border fence going up, calling for the National Guard to patrol the border, advocating for a guest worker program to reduce illegal immigration, promising more local law enforcement cooperation with Mexico, Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona has repeated something like a mantra: Security and immigration are the federal government’s responsibility.
Now, it could be hers.
President-elect Barack Obama, transition officials said, is planning to choose Ms. Napolitano, a border-state governor who lives and breathes the often-heated immigration debate, to head the Homeland Security Department.
Ms. Napolitano, 51, a former state and federal prosecutor who was re-elected to a second term as governor in 2006, has pleased and peeved both the left and right in her nearly six years as a Democratic governor in a Republican-leaning state whose border with Mexico is the country’s busiest crossing point for illegal immigrants.
“She has been in the eye of the storm on this issue and its intersection with border security,” said Angela Kelley, director of the Immigration Policy Center at the American Immigration Law Foundation, a group that advocates for immigrants.
In private, Ms. Napolitano has been cordial with the man she would succeed, Michael Chertoff, but she has often been publicly critical of the Bush administration’s policies on border enforcement and illegal immigration.
While Mr. Chertoff has pushed hard to comply with a Congressional mandate to build nearly 700 miles of new fencing along the United States-Mexico border by the end of the year — even waiving some environmental laws to get it done — Ms. Napolitano has shown little enthusiasm for the project.
If you build a 50-foot-high wall, somebody will find a 51-foot ladder, she has often said in speeches and news conferences, while criticizing the Department of Homeland Security for persistent delays in deploying a “virtual fence” of cameras, sensors and other technology.
Last year, Ms. Napolitano reached a deal with Mr. Chertoff to make driver’s licenses more secure under a federal program known as REAL ID, but in June she signed a bill refusing to put the standards in place, calling the program an unfinanced federal mandate.
She was a vocal critic when Congress failed to pass legislation last year revamping immigration law and has also backed proposals favored by some immigrant advocacy groups, including a temporary worker program and “a strict and stringent pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigrants already here that would include learning English and paying fines.
But last year she also signed into law sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal workers and later complained when the Bush administration withdrew the bulk of the National Guard from the Mexican border earlier this year, as it had planned.
Also at home in Arizona, she has called raids by the sheriff in Maricopa County, the state’s most populous, that have resulted in the deportation of scores of illegal immigrants “troublesome” and, much to the sheriff’s ire, withdrew state money that had financed some of his operations.
Doris Meissner, an immigration commissioner in the Clinton administration who is now a fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington, said: “I think it signals that under the new administration that immigration is an important part of the homeland security portfolio. I think she brings a balanced view that is going to be very constructive.”
But some who take a hard-line approach to stopping illegal immigration called the selection of Ms. Napolitano a travesty, saying she is not deeply committed to enforcement and underplays the importance of physical fences.
“I am trying to find a 51-foot ladder for her,” said J. D. Hayworth, a former Republican congressman from Arizona who now hosts a radio talk show. “I don’t think very many illegal aliens would be running around with 51-foot ladders. She has been playing both sides and does not bring a seriousness of purpose to the issue.”
Other advocates of stricter immigration laws gave her qualified support.
“My first thought is that Obama could do a lot worse,” said Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, a policy group in the Washington area, who went on to praise Ms. Napolitano’s law enforcement background while denouncing her support for a guest worker program as “amnesty.”
A Senate aide whose boss would be central in the confirmation process predicted that Ms. Napolitano’s confirmation would go smoothly and quickly, assuming no obstacles emerged from a background investigation.
“You can always raise, ‘What is her homeland security experience?’ ” said the aide, who spoke anonymously because his boss had not yet publicly addressed the potential nomination. “But you could raise that with anybody, including Michael Chertoff, before he took the post. And what the department really needs is a strong manager, a steady hand at the helm. Her record as attorney general and governor indicate she would be a strong leader for the department and a good manager.”
Homeland security, the third-largest cabinet department, is of course much more than border security. Among its units are the Secret Service, the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency.
As governor, Ms. Napolitano has not been tested by major natural disasters. But the few significant crises on her watch, mainly large forest fires and a prison hostage siege, she seemed to handle without much criticism.
Ms. Napolitano was serving as the state attorney general when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred, and she swiftly called for background checks on students in flight schools and denounced the shooting death of a Sikh man near Phoenix a few days after the attacks in what prosecutors called a hate crime.
But most of her record relevant to domestic security has come as governor.
She has been an active participant in meetings of governors from both sides of the Mexican border and at the most recent one, in Los Angeles last summer, she announced more cross-border cooperation in tracking guns used in drug violence in Mexico.
Ms. Napolitano has not cut a high national profile, and her precise, wonkish manner of speech does not always lend itself to sound bites. But she reached one sort of milestone last week when she was parodied on “Saturday Night Live.”
The actor Paul Rudd, assuring that the Obama administration would allow for plenty of impersonations, asked the Napolitano knock-off what she would do about “border security legislation.”
“Let’s revamp it!” Kristen Wiig, a cast member impersonating Ms. Napolitano, cried out, saying nothing else and leaving the stage to laughter.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/us/politics/21napolitano.html?ref=us
November 20, 2008
All along, while casting a skeptical eye on the border fence going up, calling for the National Guard to patrol the border, advocating for a guest worker program to reduce illegal immigration, promising more local law enforcement cooperation with Mexico, Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona has repeated something like a mantra: Security and immigration are the federal government’s responsibility.
Now, it could be hers.
President-elect Barack Obama, transition officials said, is planning to choose Ms. Napolitano, a border-state governor who lives and breathes the often-heated immigration debate, to head the Homeland Security Department.
Ms. Napolitano, 51, a former state and federal prosecutor who was re-elected to a second term as governor in 2006, has pleased and peeved both the left and right in her nearly six years as a Democratic governor in a Republican-leaning state whose border with Mexico is the country’s busiest crossing point for illegal immigrants.
“She has been in the eye of the storm on this issue and its intersection with border security,” said Angela Kelley, director of the Immigration Policy Center at the American Immigration Law Foundation, a group that advocates for immigrants.
In private, Ms. Napolitano has been cordial with the man she would succeed, Michael Chertoff, but she has often been publicly critical of the Bush administration’s policies on border enforcement and illegal immigration.
While Mr. Chertoff has pushed hard to comply with a Congressional mandate to build nearly 700 miles of new fencing along the United States-Mexico border by the end of the year — even waiving some environmental laws to get it done — Ms. Napolitano has shown little enthusiasm for the project.
If you build a 50-foot-high wall, somebody will find a 51-foot ladder, she has often said in speeches and news conferences, while criticizing the Department of Homeland Security for persistent delays in deploying a “virtual fence” of cameras, sensors and other technology.
Last year, Ms. Napolitano reached a deal with Mr. Chertoff to make driver’s licenses more secure under a federal program known as REAL ID, but in June she signed a bill refusing to put the standards in place, calling the program an unfinanced federal mandate.
She was a vocal critic when Congress failed to pass legislation last year revamping immigration law and has also backed proposals favored by some immigrant advocacy groups, including a temporary worker program and “a strict and stringent pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigrants already here that would include learning English and paying fines.
But last year she also signed into law sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal workers and later complained when the Bush administration withdrew the bulk of the National Guard from the Mexican border earlier this year, as it had planned.
Also at home in Arizona, she has called raids by the sheriff in Maricopa County, the state’s most populous, that have resulted in the deportation of scores of illegal immigrants “troublesome” and, much to the sheriff’s ire, withdrew state money that had financed some of his operations.
Doris Meissner, an immigration commissioner in the Clinton administration who is now a fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington, said: “I think it signals that under the new administration that immigration is an important part of the homeland security portfolio. I think she brings a balanced view that is going to be very constructive.”
But some who take a hard-line approach to stopping illegal immigration called the selection of Ms. Napolitano a travesty, saying she is not deeply committed to enforcement and underplays the importance of physical fences.
“I am trying to find a 51-foot ladder for her,” said J. D. Hayworth, a former Republican congressman from Arizona who now hosts a radio talk show. “I don’t think very many illegal aliens would be running around with 51-foot ladders. She has been playing both sides and does not bring a seriousness of purpose to the issue.”
Other advocates of stricter immigration laws gave her qualified support.
“My first thought is that Obama could do a lot worse,” said Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, a policy group in the Washington area, who went on to praise Ms. Napolitano’s law enforcement background while denouncing her support for a guest worker program as “amnesty.”
A Senate aide whose boss would be central in the confirmation process predicted that Ms. Napolitano’s confirmation would go smoothly and quickly, assuming no obstacles emerged from a background investigation.
“You can always raise, ‘What is her homeland security experience?’ ” said the aide, who spoke anonymously because his boss had not yet publicly addressed the potential nomination. “But you could raise that with anybody, including Michael Chertoff, before he took the post. And what the department really needs is a strong manager, a steady hand at the helm. Her record as attorney general and governor indicate she would be a strong leader for the department and a good manager.”
Homeland security, the third-largest cabinet department, is of course much more than border security. Among its units are the Secret Service, the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency.
As governor, Ms. Napolitano has not been tested by major natural disasters. But the few significant crises on her watch, mainly large forest fires and a prison hostage siege, she seemed to handle without much criticism.
Ms. Napolitano was serving as the state attorney general when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred, and she swiftly called for background checks on students in flight schools and denounced the shooting death of a Sikh man near Phoenix a few days after the attacks in what prosecutors called a hate crime.
But most of her record relevant to domestic security has come as governor.
She has been an active participant in meetings of governors from both sides of the Mexican border and at the most recent one, in Los Angeles last summer, she announced more cross-border cooperation in tracking guns used in drug violence in Mexico.
Ms. Napolitano has not cut a high national profile, and her precise, wonkish manner of speech does not always lend itself to sound bites. But she reached one sort of milestone last week when she was parodied on “Saturday Night Live.”
The actor Paul Rudd, assuring that the Obama administration would allow for plenty of impersonations, asked the Napolitano knock-off what she would do about “border security legislation.”
“Let’s revamp it!” Kristen Wiig, a cast member impersonating Ms. Napolitano, cried out, saying nothing else and leaving the stage to laughter.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/us/politics/21napolitano.html?ref=us
U.S.-MEXICO: Fence to Carve Up Fragile Border Preserve
Inter Press Service
November 19, 2008
SAN DIEGO, California, Nov 19 (IPS) - Another chapter in U.S.-Mexico border relations is about to close. In the waning days of the George W. Bush administration, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is completing construction of a 22-kilometre triple fence along the San Diego-Tijuana border.
It is being done over the objections of environmental activists living near the border, who are worried both about the toll on wildlife and those seeking entry into the United States.
A patch of green encircled by two cities, the Tijuana estuary lacks the grandeur of a mountain range but to biologists and conservationists it's an invaluable piece of real estate.
Created in 1981, the Tijuana River Research Reserve is an island of relative calm at the centre of a political maelstrom that pits conservations against advocates that promote tighter border controls. Nesting amid coastal sage and tall grass, 400 species of birds inhabit the wetlands. Thousands more birds return each year to one of the last vestiges of salt marsh existing in Southern California, where 90 percent have been lost to development.
"The estuary is one of the few remaining in Southern California without heavy human intrusion," said Mike McCoy, president of the South West Wetlands Interpretive Association.
However, the estuary has been part of contested territory for generations. The land was granted to the United States after the Treaty of Hidalgo in 1848, which ceded much of what is now southwest Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California to the United States in the aftermath of the U.S-Mexican War.
The estuary has also been labeled a haven for drug-running and illegal border crossings, according to border officials, making it a flash point for U.S. immigration policy and government agencies entrusted with protecting rare and endangered species living in the estuary. The nearby Otay Mesa border crossing is the most active border crossing in the world.
On average, more than 31 billion dollars worth of products cross through the checkpoint each day, nearly all of it related to the regional maquiladora/manufacturing and agricultural industries. Others seek entry through different methods. "The immigration problem is overblown," remarked a docent on a recent trip to the Tijuana River Research Reserve.
The border, however, does have a dark side. According to U.S. border officials, the region is a magnet for illegal activity -- 162,000 arrests have been made, and 49,000 pounds of marijuana and 699 pounds of cocaine intercepted since November 2007. Drug cartels waging war on the streets of Tijuana also add an element of fear and apprehension. Here the border is tangible.
After 3,200 kilometres, the line tumbles into the Pacific Ocean, and a steel fence divides the United States from Mexico.
During the 1980s, the estuary was in danger of being overrun. Social trails scarred the land. Migrants seeking entry into the United States used the estuary as a crossing point, prompting local politicos to take action.
Also known as Operation Gatekeeper, the 60-million-dollar construction project comprises the western portion of the San Diego Border Infrastructure System. A federally funded programme put in place by Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, it dates back to 1996.
In the coming weeks, two fences will flank the existing one, leaving a gap wide enough to provide access to patrol vehicles, along the westernmost 5.6 kilometres of the U.S.-Mexico border. It will enable agents to monitor a border that marches across the edge of Tijuana's city limits, stretching into the arroyos and mesas beyond.
The plan calls for infilling Smugglers Gulch, a steep canyon through which contraband and people pass. It requires the movement of 2 million cubic yards of earth and calls for building a culvert to divert rainfall that flows down denuded hillsides during storms.
According to local legend, Smugglers Gulch earned its reputation during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s, when Tijuana became a destination for U.S. servicemen and thrill seekers. In Mexico, it is known as Canon de Matador, or Slaughter House Canyon, supposedly because goats were slaughtered in the area.
The tops of mesas will be graded down and sections of canyons filled to accommodate an extensive defensive infrastructure that in all likelihood will add to the menace that pervades the border.
According to environmentalists, 100 acres of existing habitat will be compromised within the estuary, placing additional stress on the remaining habitat. "The long-term consequences are unknown," said David Massey, director of education at the San Diego Natural History, when speaking of the triple border fence.
The initial plan met with fierce opposition from environmental groups, who cite concerns that fill from Smugglers Gulch would ultimately choke the wetlands with sedimentation. This would violate federal laws that set aside the estuary as a wildlife refuge and water quality standards. The coastal commission agreed that the project would cause environmental harm and blocked construction.
In September 2005, Michael Chertoff, secretary of Homeland Security, trumped all legal challengers by citing the National ID Act, giving him the authority to waive any regulation that impeded construction of the fence in the name of national security.
A local federal district court judge then dismissed all cases that impeded the construction of the fence on the grounds that the intent of Congress was clear in terms of completing its construction.
Construction will move along as the DHS attempts to meet its stated goal of building 225 miles of pedestrian fencing and 362 kilometres of vehicle barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border -- plans likely to meet with additional legal challenges in the months and years to come as advocates on both sides of the fence continue to debate border policy over a landscape where cowboys and coyotes fear to go.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44774
November 19, 2008
SAN DIEGO, California, Nov 19 (IPS) - Another chapter in U.S.-Mexico border relations is about to close. In the waning days of the George W. Bush administration, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is completing construction of a 22-kilometre triple fence along the San Diego-Tijuana border.
It is being done over the objections of environmental activists living near the border, who are worried both about the toll on wildlife and those seeking entry into the United States.
A patch of green encircled by two cities, the Tijuana estuary lacks the grandeur of a mountain range but to biologists and conservationists it's an invaluable piece of real estate.
Created in 1981, the Tijuana River Research Reserve is an island of relative calm at the centre of a political maelstrom that pits conservations against advocates that promote tighter border controls. Nesting amid coastal sage and tall grass, 400 species of birds inhabit the wetlands. Thousands more birds return each year to one of the last vestiges of salt marsh existing in Southern California, where 90 percent have been lost to development.
"The estuary is one of the few remaining in Southern California without heavy human intrusion," said Mike McCoy, president of the South West Wetlands Interpretive Association.
However, the estuary has been part of contested territory for generations. The land was granted to the United States after the Treaty of Hidalgo in 1848, which ceded much of what is now southwest Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California to the United States in the aftermath of the U.S-Mexican War.
The estuary has also been labeled a haven for drug-running and illegal border crossings, according to border officials, making it a flash point for U.S. immigration policy and government agencies entrusted with protecting rare and endangered species living in the estuary. The nearby Otay Mesa border crossing is the most active border crossing in the world.
On average, more than 31 billion dollars worth of products cross through the checkpoint each day, nearly all of it related to the regional maquiladora/manufacturing and agricultural industries. Others seek entry through different methods. "The immigration problem is overblown," remarked a docent on a recent trip to the Tijuana River Research Reserve.
The border, however, does have a dark side. According to U.S. border officials, the region is a magnet for illegal activity -- 162,000 arrests have been made, and 49,000 pounds of marijuana and 699 pounds of cocaine intercepted since November 2007. Drug cartels waging war on the streets of Tijuana also add an element of fear and apprehension. Here the border is tangible.
After 3,200 kilometres, the line tumbles into the Pacific Ocean, and a steel fence divides the United States from Mexico.
During the 1980s, the estuary was in danger of being overrun. Social trails scarred the land. Migrants seeking entry into the United States used the estuary as a crossing point, prompting local politicos to take action.
Also known as Operation Gatekeeper, the 60-million-dollar construction project comprises the western portion of the San Diego Border Infrastructure System. A federally funded programme put in place by Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, it dates back to 1996.
In the coming weeks, two fences will flank the existing one, leaving a gap wide enough to provide access to patrol vehicles, along the westernmost 5.6 kilometres of the U.S.-Mexico border. It will enable agents to monitor a border that marches across the edge of Tijuana's city limits, stretching into the arroyos and mesas beyond.
The plan calls for infilling Smugglers Gulch, a steep canyon through which contraband and people pass. It requires the movement of 2 million cubic yards of earth and calls for building a culvert to divert rainfall that flows down denuded hillsides during storms.
According to local legend, Smugglers Gulch earned its reputation during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s, when Tijuana became a destination for U.S. servicemen and thrill seekers. In Mexico, it is known as Canon de Matador, or Slaughter House Canyon, supposedly because goats were slaughtered in the area.
The tops of mesas will be graded down and sections of canyons filled to accommodate an extensive defensive infrastructure that in all likelihood will add to the menace that pervades the border.
According to environmentalists, 100 acres of existing habitat will be compromised within the estuary, placing additional stress on the remaining habitat. "The long-term consequences are unknown," said David Massey, director of education at the San Diego Natural History, when speaking of the triple border fence.
The initial plan met with fierce opposition from environmental groups, who cite concerns that fill from Smugglers Gulch would ultimately choke the wetlands with sedimentation. This would violate federal laws that set aside the estuary as a wildlife refuge and water quality standards. The coastal commission agreed that the project would cause environmental harm and blocked construction.
In September 2005, Michael Chertoff, secretary of Homeland Security, trumped all legal challengers by citing the National ID Act, giving him the authority to waive any regulation that impeded construction of the fence in the name of national security.
A local federal district court judge then dismissed all cases that impeded the construction of the fence on the grounds that the intent of Congress was clear in terms of completing its construction.
Construction will move along as the DHS attempts to meet its stated goal of building 225 miles of pedestrian fencing and 362 kilometres of vehicle barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border -- plans likely to meet with additional legal challenges in the months and years to come as advocates on both sides of the fence continue to debate border policy over a landscape where cowboys and coyotes fear to go.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44774
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Concertina wire bolsters segment of border fence
San Deigo Union-Tribune
November 19, 2008
The Border Patrol is claiming success along a formerly chaotic five-mile stretch of the border between the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry, where fencing was raised and reinforced with razor-studded concertina wire.
Yesterday, agents in San Diego celebrated the completion of the wire project, begun in December and mostly finished about two months ago. The Border Patrol said both illegal-crossing arrests and assaults against agents in the area are down by more than 50 percent.
However, a growing number of apprehensions and assaults are occurring west of the San Ysidro port of entry, and overall arrests in San Diego County continue to rise. And while smugglers are having a harder time leading people over the fence using flexible ladders as they once did, inventive ones are now using battery-powered saws to cut through it.
Still, “if you look at incremental gains of operational control, this is one piece,” said Michael Corley, agent in charge of the Border Patrol's Imperial Beach station, which oversees the area.
The section of fence that was reinforced abuts Colonia Libertad, a Tijuana neighborhood that has long been a launching point for clandestine border crossings. In recent years, as the Border Patrol tried to gain control, smugglers grew more violent, often hurling rocks – at times covered in gasoline-soaked rags – at agents.
The Border Patrol responded with pepper spray, tear gas and occasionally bullets. A man who agents said was linked to smuggling was fatally shot in December 2005.
In February, agents discovered a thick wire strung between the primary and secondary border fences. When pulled taut, it stretched across a patrol road at about neck level, a decapitation hazard for agents on all-terrain vehicles.
Mexican officials confirmed an incident last November in which 11 Tijuana residents received medical aid after being hit by tear gas. In December, the Border Patrol began straightening the secondary fence with help from the National Guard, elevating it by about 3 feet. At the same time, contractors began installing the concertina wire.
The wire, which agents say is not used elsewhere on the border, has been met with criticism. Yesterday, the Mexican consulate in San Diego released a statement calling it a detriment to international relations.
Razor wire “is not a signal that reflects the good relationship between our countries,” the statement reads.
The statement also raised the potential for injury to immigrants. Corley said two laceration injuries have been reported, and the number of jumping-related injuries to immigrants has dropped.
There is no way to know how many people have been cut because it's likely they would return south for treatment, said Pedro Rios of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-affiliated group that assists immigrants.
“It is completely unnecessary and barbaric,” Rios said of the wire. “Part of the reason is trying to dissuade people from coming across by creating a show of force.”
Some people have tried to throw blankets over the wire, Corley said, but overall it has discouraged crossings. In the 11 months before the first of the wire was installed in December, 7,989 apprehensions and 184 assaults against agents were reported for the area the station oversees. In the 11 months following, 3,746 apprehensions and 90 assaults were reported, respective drops of 53 percent and 51 percent.
Despite these declines, there has been a recent increase in smuggling traffic and assaults to the west. While in the past apprehensions were evenly split on either side of San Ysidro port of entry, recently the west side has seen more than 70 percent of them, Corley said.
And while smuggling from Colonia Libertad has lessened, smugglers are still working. A common method now is to gouge a hole in the steel mesh fence and then saw out an opening. That takes three or four minutes, Corley said, while “with the ladders, they would be over in 15 seconds.”
He said agents still encounter some violence and occasionally use nonlethal weapons, such as pepper-spray launchers. There are no plans to install more concertina wire.
San Diego County has experienced its third straight year of increases in border crossing arrests, with most traffic still coming through East County, according to agents. In fiscal year 2008, which ended Sept. 30, there were 162,390 apprehensions in the agency's San Diego sector, compared with 126,904 in fiscal year 2005.
Apprehensions have been down along most other parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20081119-9999-1m19fence.html
November 19, 2008
The Border Patrol is claiming success along a formerly chaotic five-mile stretch of the border between the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry, where fencing was raised and reinforced with razor-studded concertina wire.
Yesterday, agents in San Diego celebrated the completion of the wire project, begun in December and mostly finished about two months ago. The Border Patrol said both illegal-crossing arrests and assaults against agents in the area are down by more than 50 percent.
However, a growing number of apprehensions and assaults are occurring west of the San Ysidro port of entry, and overall arrests in San Diego County continue to rise. And while smugglers are having a harder time leading people over the fence using flexible ladders as they once did, inventive ones are now using battery-powered saws to cut through it.
Still, “if you look at incremental gains of operational control, this is one piece,” said Michael Corley, agent in charge of the Border Patrol's Imperial Beach station, which oversees the area.
The section of fence that was reinforced abuts Colonia Libertad, a Tijuana neighborhood that has long been a launching point for clandestine border crossings. In recent years, as the Border Patrol tried to gain control, smugglers grew more violent, often hurling rocks – at times covered in gasoline-soaked rags – at agents.
The Border Patrol responded with pepper spray, tear gas and occasionally bullets. A man who agents said was linked to smuggling was fatally shot in December 2005.
In February, agents discovered a thick wire strung between the primary and secondary border fences. When pulled taut, it stretched across a patrol road at about neck level, a decapitation hazard for agents on all-terrain vehicles.
Mexican officials confirmed an incident last November in which 11 Tijuana residents received medical aid after being hit by tear gas. In December, the Border Patrol began straightening the secondary fence with help from the National Guard, elevating it by about 3 feet. At the same time, contractors began installing the concertina wire.
The wire, which agents say is not used elsewhere on the border, has been met with criticism. Yesterday, the Mexican consulate in San Diego released a statement calling it a detriment to international relations.
Razor wire “is not a signal that reflects the good relationship between our countries,” the statement reads.
The statement also raised the potential for injury to immigrants. Corley said two laceration injuries have been reported, and the number of jumping-related injuries to immigrants has dropped.
There is no way to know how many people have been cut because it's likely they would return south for treatment, said Pedro Rios of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-affiliated group that assists immigrants.
“It is completely unnecessary and barbaric,” Rios said of the wire. “Part of the reason is trying to dissuade people from coming across by creating a show of force.”
Some people have tried to throw blankets over the wire, Corley said, but overall it has discouraged crossings. In the 11 months before the first of the wire was installed in December, 7,989 apprehensions and 184 assaults against agents were reported for the area the station oversees. In the 11 months following, 3,746 apprehensions and 90 assaults were reported, respective drops of 53 percent and 51 percent.
Despite these declines, there has been a recent increase in smuggling traffic and assaults to the west. While in the past apprehensions were evenly split on either side of San Ysidro port of entry, recently the west side has seen more than 70 percent of them, Corley said.
And while smuggling from Colonia Libertad has lessened, smugglers are still working. A common method now is to gouge a hole in the steel mesh fence and then saw out an opening. That takes three or four minutes, Corley said, while “with the ladders, they would be over in 15 seconds.”
He said agents still encounter some violence and occasionally use nonlethal weapons, such as pepper-spray launchers. There are no plans to install more concertina wire.
San Diego County has experienced its third straight year of increases in border crossing arrests, with most traffic still coming through East County, according to agents. In fiscal year 2008, which ended Sept. 30, there were 162,390 apprehensions in the agency's San Diego sector, compared with 126,904 in fiscal year 2005.
Apprehensions have been down along most other parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20081119-9999-1m19fence.html
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Border wall moves ahead as DHS completes contracting
Scripps Howard Foundation Wire / AXcess News
November 18, 2008
(AXcess News) Washington - The government has awarded construction contracts for all but five miles of the border wall, leaving little doubt the controversial barrier will be completed, despite missing its initial deadline.
As costs and legal delays mounted in late September, the chances that the Department of Homeland Security would finish the wall by the end of the year - its congressionally mandated deadline - grew slim. Asked if the department would revise the deadline, officials in Washington pointed to an October statement by Secretary Michael Chertoff.
"It is a little hard to project because, as you pointed out, the biggest uncertainty is the court proceedings. They have been slower than, frankly, I would have projected," Chertoff said at a news conference. "I am going to give you a projection, but it is not a guarantee. I believe by the time we leave the office and hopefully by the time we are at the end of the year, we will have 90 to 95 percent either completed or at least under construction, meaning we will have broken ground."
As of Nov. 5, contractors working for the department had built more than 217 miles of pedestrian fencing and 160 miles of vehicle barriers. Contracts for a further 141 miles of vehicle barriers and 141 miles of pedestrian fencing had also been drawn up. Five miles of pedestrian fencing remained to be contracted.
In all, the department plans to build 665 miles of pedestrian fencing and vehicle barriers. About 40 of the 109 miles planned for Texas will stretch through the Rio Grande Valley, long a trouble spot for the department.
The department faced few hurdles building the wall on federal property along the border in California, Arizona and New Mexico. Texas, where much border property is privately owned, proved thornier.
Lawsuits from valley residents slowed construction. The department, which has won all cases that have gone to court, couldn't say how many are pending.
More recently, environmental worries prompted the department to delay 14 miles of movable fencing in Roma, Rio Grande City and Los Ebanos.
"The problem is that we're building there on the river in the flood plain," said Angela de Rocha, a Customs and Border Patrol spokeswoman. "We got conflicting information from the engineering and hydrology studies."
The Army Corps of Engineers, federal contractors and the International Boundary and Water Commission are all studying whether the fencing could change water flow, which could require Mexican approval. The department isn't sure when it will begin construction.
Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, who doubts the fencing will stem the flood of drugs and immigrants that regularly pass through the county, said he's "elated" about the delay.
"We feel the wall was a waste of federal monies," Vera said. "So this delay, as far as we're concerned, is a blessing."
Locals want to secure the border, he said, but feel that increasing the number of border patrol agents or boosting surveillance would produce better results.
Isolated settlements across the river from Rio Grande City, Roma and Los Ebanos have made all three cities "some of our heavier drug trafficking corridors," said Dan Doty, one of the valley's supervisory Border Patrol agents.
During the first nine months of 2008, the Drug Enforcement Agency seized 1,405 kilograms of cocaine and 74,170 kilograms of marijuana in the McAllen area. The agency's figures include packaging and don't take into account drugs intercepted by local, state or other federal agencies.
As of last week, Border Patrol agents had caught 67,741 people attempting to cross into the valley illegally, Doty said.
The total cost of the border wall, which includes environmental studies and research designed to determine the most effective barriers, will reach about $1.6 billion, according to figures from Customs and Border Patrol.
http://www.axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/17083
November 18, 2008
(AXcess News) Washington - The government has awarded construction contracts for all but five miles of the border wall, leaving little doubt the controversial barrier will be completed, despite missing its initial deadline.
As costs and legal delays mounted in late September, the chances that the Department of Homeland Security would finish the wall by the end of the year - its congressionally mandated deadline - grew slim. Asked if the department would revise the deadline, officials in Washington pointed to an October statement by Secretary Michael Chertoff.
"It is a little hard to project because, as you pointed out, the biggest uncertainty is the court proceedings. They have been slower than, frankly, I would have projected," Chertoff said at a news conference. "I am going to give you a projection, but it is not a guarantee. I believe by the time we leave the office and hopefully by the time we are at the end of the year, we will have 90 to 95 percent either completed or at least under construction, meaning we will have broken ground."
As of Nov. 5, contractors working for the department had built more than 217 miles of pedestrian fencing and 160 miles of vehicle barriers. Contracts for a further 141 miles of vehicle barriers and 141 miles of pedestrian fencing had also been drawn up. Five miles of pedestrian fencing remained to be contracted.
In all, the department plans to build 665 miles of pedestrian fencing and vehicle barriers. About 40 of the 109 miles planned for Texas will stretch through the Rio Grande Valley, long a trouble spot for the department.
The department faced few hurdles building the wall on federal property along the border in California, Arizona and New Mexico. Texas, where much border property is privately owned, proved thornier.
Lawsuits from valley residents slowed construction. The department, which has won all cases that have gone to court, couldn't say how many are pending.
More recently, environmental worries prompted the department to delay 14 miles of movable fencing in Roma, Rio Grande City and Los Ebanos.
"The problem is that we're building there on the river in the flood plain," said Angela de Rocha, a Customs and Border Patrol spokeswoman. "We got conflicting information from the engineering and hydrology studies."
The Army Corps of Engineers, federal contractors and the International Boundary and Water Commission are all studying whether the fencing could change water flow, which could require Mexican approval. The department isn't sure when it will begin construction.
Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, who doubts the fencing will stem the flood of drugs and immigrants that regularly pass through the county, said he's "elated" about the delay.
"We feel the wall was a waste of federal monies," Vera said. "So this delay, as far as we're concerned, is a blessing."
Locals want to secure the border, he said, but feel that increasing the number of border patrol agents or boosting surveillance would produce better results.
Isolated settlements across the river from Rio Grande City, Roma and Los Ebanos have made all three cities "some of our heavier drug trafficking corridors," said Dan Doty, one of the valley's supervisory Border Patrol agents.
During the first nine months of 2008, the Drug Enforcement Agency seized 1,405 kilograms of cocaine and 74,170 kilograms of marijuana in the McAllen area. The agency's figures include packaging and don't take into account drugs intercepted by local, state or other federal agencies.
As of last week, Border Patrol agents had caught 67,741 people attempting to cross into the valley illegally, Doty said.
The total cost of the border wall, which includes environmental studies and research designed to determine the most effective barriers, will reach about $1.6 billion, according to figures from Customs and Border Patrol.
http://www.axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/17083
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Border fence land suits continue despite construction delays
The Monitor
November 16, 2008
Government efforts to seize private land for stretches of border fencing will continue even though construction has been put on hold in parts of the Rio Grande Valley.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed earlier this month that it has halted efforts to build 14 miles of "movable fencing" in Los Ebanos, Rio Grande City and Roma, pending review by the next presidential administration.
But Justice Department lawyers said Friday they will continue to pursue 240 lawsuits filed against Valley landowners in anticipation for the project's revival in those areas.
"Construction postponement does not affect the outstanding condemnation suits," department spokesman Andrew Ames said via e-mail.
The Department of Homeland Security cited trouble securing private lands in South Texas as one of many reasons that the border barrier would not be completed by its Congressionally mandated Dec. 31 deadline.
Concerns that the movable fence planned in Starr and western Hidalgo counties could pose a flood risk to communities there were blamed for the most recent delay.
Currently, 80 Valley holdouts still have eminent domain lawsuits pending in court. The sticking point for many is fair compensation for their land.
Oscar Ceballos, of Brownsville, believes federal government appraisers undervalued the Cameron County property on which he lives and runs his trucking business.
The Justice Department offered him $1,600 for 0.26 acres of his land. But he and several other affected landowners have asked U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen to let a jury of local residents decide the fair price.
While Hanen has repeatedly indicated that the government is entitled to take the property it is asking for, he has appeared willing to hear the landowners out on the offered prices.
"We believe a jury can take into consideration all of the unique circumstances affecting our client's property - its historical use and its future use," said Ceballos' attorney, Celestino Gallegos of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. "The city is moving out his way and he both lives and works on the property."
Justice Department attorneys, meanwhile, have suggested their own alternative - a three-member panel of court-appointed land experts that will review each case and settle on a fair price. The same panel could be used to review all of the condemnation lawsuits.
"The government believes that trial before a commission will lead to uniformity and fairness for all landowners," Ames said.
Governments typically opt for such panels in hopes of avoiding the risk that juries will inflate the actual value of the land, said Marc K. Whyte, a San Antonio-based eminent domain attorney who is not involved in the ongoing border fence suits. Valley juries are also notorious across the state for awarding large monetary judgments to individuals over large corporations and government entities, he said.
"This is just an effort to try and control the money the (landowners) are going to win before a jury," he said.
Hanen is expected to make a final decision on how these cases will be reviewed in the coming weeks.
In all, plans call for 70 miles of segmented fencing in the Rio Grande Valley. But so far, construction has only begun in Cameron County. Contractors have been working on several segments of an enhanced levee that doubles as a border barrier in Hidalgo County since the summer.
Border fence construction in Los Ebanos and Starr County could resume again as soon as next year, government officials said.
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/fence_19928___article.html/border_land.html
November 16, 2008
Government efforts to seize private land for stretches of border fencing will continue even though construction has been put on hold in parts of the Rio Grande Valley.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed earlier this month that it has halted efforts to build 14 miles of "movable fencing" in Los Ebanos, Rio Grande City and Roma, pending review by the next presidential administration.
But Justice Department lawyers said Friday they will continue to pursue 240 lawsuits filed against Valley landowners in anticipation for the project's revival in those areas.
"Construction postponement does not affect the outstanding condemnation suits," department spokesman Andrew Ames said via e-mail.
The Department of Homeland Security cited trouble securing private lands in South Texas as one of many reasons that the border barrier would not be completed by its Congressionally mandated Dec. 31 deadline.
Concerns that the movable fence planned in Starr and western Hidalgo counties could pose a flood risk to communities there were blamed for the most recent delay.
Currently, 80 Valley holdouts still have eminent domain lawsuits pending in court. The sticking point for many is fair compensation for their land.
Oscar Ceballos, of Brownsville, believes federal government appraisers undervalued the Cameron County property on which he lives and runs his trucking business.
The Justice Department offered him $1,600 for 0.26 acres of his land. But he and several other affected landowners have asked U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen to let a jury of local residents decide the fair price.
While Hanen has repeatedly indicated that the government is entitled to take the property it is asking for, he has appeared willing to hear the landowners out on the offered prices.
"We believe a jury can take into consideration all of the unique circumstances affecting our client's property - its historical use and its future use," said Ceballos' attorney, Celestino Gallegos of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. "The city is moving out his way and he both lives and works on the property."
Justice Department attorneys, meanwhile, have suggested their own alternative - a three-member panel of court-appointed land experts that will review each case and settle on a fair price. The same panel could be used to review all of the condemnation lawsuits.
"The government believes that trial before a commission will lead to uniformity and fairness for all landowners," Ames said.
Governments typically opt for such panels in hopes of avoiding the risk that juries will inflate the actual value of the land, said Marc K. Whyte, a San Antonio-based eminent domain attorney who is not involved in the ongoing border fence suits. Valley juries are also notorious across the state for awarding large monetary judgments to individuals over large corporations and government entities, he said.
"This is just an effort to try and control the money the (landowners) are going to win before a jury," he said.
Hanen is expected to make a final decision on how these cases will be reviewed in the coming weeks.
In all, plans call for 70 miles of segmented fencing in the Rio Grande Valley. But so far, construction has only begun in Cameron County. Contractors have been working on several segments of an enhanced levee that doubles as a border barrier in Hidalgo County since the summer.
Border fence construction in Los Ebanos and Starr County could resume again as soon as next year, government officials said.
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/fence_19928___article.html/border_land.html
Saturday, November 15, 2008
A brief in opposition to the Border Wall
Newspaper Tree
November 14, 2008
El Paso County Attorney José R. Rodríguez was invited to testify last week before the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus (MALC) of the Texas House of Representatives in relation to the federal lawsuit the County and the City of El Paso filed this summer challenging Congress’ delegation of authority that allowed Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff to waive more than 30 federal, state, and local laws, in order to accelerate the construction of the border wall. You can view the testimony, with attachments, via the link below this article.
Rodriguez's argument was:
-- The number of undocumented immigrants apprehended by the Border Patrol dropped 60 percent in relation to the previous year.
-- That the billions of dollars that the federal government will spend building the border wall would be better invested in providing more resources to the federal agents that patrol the border.
-- That the border wall will negatively impact the water supply to many farmers in the Lower Valley and potentially affect the ability of the El Paso County Improvement District #1 to supply water to 50 percent of El Paso residents, as well as hinder bi-national efforts to re-introduce endangered species.
-- Harm conservation efforts that are underway to protect the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, in El Paso’s lower valley, and affect the cultural history of the region, as the border wall cuts through sacred ceremonial land used for centuries by the Ysleta Pueblo del Sur Tribe (Tigua).
***
José R. Rodríguez El Paso County Attorney Testimony to the Mexican American Legislative Caucus On the Border Wall November 13, 2008
I am El Paso County Attorney José R. Rodríguez. Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony to the Mexican American Legislative Caucus regarding the challenges and consequences El Paso County faces as a result of the construction of the Border Wall. The Texas/Mexico border and particularly my jurisdiction in El Paso, Texas is a unique bi-national community. An aerial view of our border community captures the seamless span of our metropolitan area that comprises well over 2 million people within the cities of El Paso and Juarez. El Paso and Juarez share more than just a physical barrier; they share a common identity and culture, and even history, that forms a unique demographic in our region. As such, El Paso’s ethnic, cultural, and linguistically distinct characteristics require a deeper understanding by lawmakers on the needs of this region. A multi-billion dollar Border Wall will serve no purpose other than to avoid the real issue that lawmakers must address- comprehension immigration reform. In fact, if the purpose of the Border Wall is to stop illegal immigration, data proves otherwise, instead showing that illegal immigrant apprehensions have decreased significantly in recent years. For El Paso County, a Border Wall represents not only a waste of time, money, and resources, but also a disruption of crucial waterways, desert ecosystems, sacred Native American land, and long-standing relations between the El Paso and Juarez communities.
El Paso’s Response
In El Paso there is wide spread opposition to the Border Wall. Recognizing that the relationship with its sister city transcends boundaries, El Paso has passed resolutions and filed lawsuits opposing the Border Wall. In 2006, El Paso County Commissioners approved a resolution recognizing the contributions immigrants have made to our communities and condemning efforts by the federal government to erect ineffective physical barriers such as a Border Wall to address illegal immigration. (See Attachment A) In my capacity as El Paso County Attorney, I joined other elected officials in signing a resolution advocating for comprehensive immigration reform legislation. (See Attachment B) El Paso County Commissioners renewed their stance against ineffective policies aimed at curbing illegal immigration by approving a resolution in May 2008 again recognizing immigrants’ contributions to the United States and calling for federal authorities to stop construction of the Border Wall. (See Attachment C) In Summer 2008, El Paso County joined the Texas Border Coalition’s lawsuit against the Wall and, along with the City of El Paso, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, El Paso County Water Improvement District #1, Hudspeth County Conservation and Reclamation District No. 1, Frontera Audubon Society, Friends of the Wildlife Corridor, and Friends of Laguna Atacosa National Wildlife Refuge filed a separate lawsuit challenging the unconstitutional delegation of authority that allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive more than 30 federal laws, as well as state and local laws, in order to accelerate construction of the Border Wall. Waiving these laws poses severe threats to El Paso County’s environment, water resources, Native American religious customs, economic development, and its ability to enforce state and local laws affecting our community. Although the El Paso federal court dismissed the lawsuit, the case is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The unprecedented waiver authority granted to the Secretary of Homeland Security raises several constitutional issues including whether waiver of state and local laws violates Texas’ sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Questionable Need for a Border Wall
Recent Department of Homeland Security statements claiming the Border Wall is needed in El Paso to obtain operation control of the border are refuted by the government’s success in keeping immigrants out. In 1993, Operation Hold the Line was implemented throughout the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector. The initiative placed Border Patrol agents in close proximity to one another along a certain area of the border to prevent illegal immigration. In 1992, one year before Operation Hold the Line began, the number of “deportable aliens located by the Border Patrol” was approximately 248,642. In 1994, one year after Operation Hold the Line was implemented, there was an immediate drop in apprehensions to 79,688, a 68 % decrease. Although subsequent years show some fluctuation in the number of arrests, recent years’ data indicate an overwhelmingly decrease in arrests. (See Attachment D) A recent article in the El Paso Times quotes Border Patrol officials as acknowledging that given current resources and zero tolerance policy against illegal immigrants, they “do not anticipate a surge of attempted illegal entries in the coming year”. (See Attachment E) This data clearly indicates that current resources and policies are effective in deterring illegal immigration, thus raising serious questions concerning the federal government’s insistence that a border wall is necessary to stop illegal immigration.
Disruption, Destruction, and Polarization within El Paso County
Impact to El Paso’s Water Supply
Located in El Paso’s lower valley, Water Improvement District #1 (WID) provides water for 69,010 acres of water right lands. According to the WID website, WID contains 156 square miles of water that delivers critical irrigation water to El Paso County residents. As a result of the Border Wall, the WID has been inundated with concerns from area farmers who are worried that the Border Wall would block access to irrigation water provided by the Riverside Canal and prevent them from sustaining their farmlands. Along the canal, the presence of border patrol vehicles is evident by the disintegration of the canal banks. Coupled with the placement of the Border Wall alongside the Riverside Canal, the ability of WID to maintain and control the flow of water that funnels through its canals is in jeopardy. The placement of the Border Wall along an area parallel to the Riverside Canal, along the south bank, poses several threats to El Paso’s water supply including the ability of WID maintenance workers to maintain control gates that direct the flow of water into a canal. Failure to properly maintain the canals could potentially prevent water from reaching the Jonathon Rogers Treatment Plant for processing and distribution to about 50% of El Paso County residents. To date nothing has been memorialized in writing between the WID and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to address WID’s concerns. In recent weeks, discussions have taken place between the two entities with CBP claiming to reduce the impact that the Border Wall will have by proposing to place the Border Wall up on the river’s levee. WID officials continue to warn that this proposal will affect their ability to maintain the canal and will require the WID to heavily invest in herbicides and special equipment.
Environmental Impact
The Border Wall’s anticipated adverse impacts on El Paso County’s desert ecosystem and economic development include serious long term effects to border wildlife and plants, a break in bi-national conservation efforts, and the loss of an emerging eco-tourism market. Although the extent of the long term effects of a Border Wall in the El Paso region is not immediately ascertainable, it is probable that they are irreversible and, over time, can lead to significant loss and even permanent destruction in the ecosystem of the border region. El Paso is a refuge for endangered species including the Mexican gray wolf. Studies indicate that the protection of wolf habitats require open corridors in the border region. Efforts by the United States and Mexico to provide safe habitats and reintroduce the Mexican gray wolf are in direct contrast to the construction of a border wall, which will hinder the free movement of the animal on both sides of the border. Mexico has been vocal in its opposition to the construction of the border wall in large measure because past efforts between the United States and Mexico were underway to protect vital border ecosystems. Decisions made by the United States to place the wall on sensitive environmental lands hinder efforts between the United States and Mexico to collaborate and work on innovative and important environmental issues that are unique to the border region. Rio Bosque Wetlands Park Construction and inevitable maintenance of the Border Wall will harm conservation efforts that are underway to protect the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. At Rio Bosque, the goal is to re-establish, over time, approximate examples of native plant and animal communities historically found in the river valley. The proposed wall would compromise their ability to achieve this goal which has already received substantial funding from the state and federal government. In a letter to the El Paso Sector Tactical Infrastructure Environmental Assessment (EA), John Sproul, Program Coordinator for Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, raises serious concerns regarding the placement of the wall. Sproul notes the various cumulative effects on Rio Bosque in his comments to the draft EA report: impacts to wildlife, including threatened and endangered species; visual impacts; and, access issues. (See Attachment F) Sproul’s comments regarding efforts by DHS to integrate those proposals were abandoned once the Secretary issued his waiver of all laws that would hinder the Wall from being built. Rio Bosque Wetlands Parks has the potential for becoming a haven for environmental enthusiasts, similar to the Sabal Palm Audubon Center in the Rio Grande Valley. However, the Rio Bosque is likely to fall victim to a similar fate that the Sabal Palm Audubon Center is facing as a result of the Border Wall. Thus, the goal of creating the Rio Bosque into a wetlands sanctuary and possible thriving tourist destination is now in jeopardy.
Cultural Impact to the Ysleta Pueblo del Sur Tribe
The Border Wall will cut through sacred ceremonial land to the Ysleta Pueblo del Sur Tribe (Tigua). This area covers approximately 6-7 miles from the Ysleta Port of Entry to Socorro, Texas. Discussions between the Tigua’s and the CBP were described by Tribal War Captain, Rick Quesada, as minimal at best and plans by Customs and Border Protection to disrupt the ceremonial area are still underway despite protests from the Tiguas.
Polarization between the El Paso and Juarez Communities To many of us, the Border Wall symbolizes a hostile barrier between two communities that have traditionally been closely intertwined. Its construction will impact Mexico’s relationship with the United States on many levels including diplomatic relations and local cooperation. El Paso and Juarez have historically worked close together on important policy issues that affect the community; for example, extending each other assistance during the heavy floods that blanketed the El Paso/Juarez region in 2006. The two communities routinely work jointly on local drug policy, pollution control, and bi-national health initiatives. Instead of bi-national cooperation, the border wall will create distrust and endanger the existing collaborative relationship between the two communities.
Finally, the Border Wall could potentially cause social, cultural, and familial ties in both communities to falter. Both U.S. citizens and Mexican citizens cross the border through the Ports of Entry to shop, visit family, attend schools and recreational events, and obtain medical care. The Border Wall would symbolize a hostile barrier and could potentially affect the cross border services and tourism that both populations take advantage of, causing both communities to suffer economic consequences.
Conclusion
As El Paso County Attorney I have provided testimony to the Texas Senate Committee on International Relations and Trade discussing border security and issues related to local enforcement of immigration law. The current focus on border security again brings to the forefront the need for lawmakers to engage in meaningful discussions regarding comprehensive immigration reform. A multi-billion dollar effort to construct the Border Wall simply does not make sense. At a time when America faces a severe financial crises it is simply irresponsible to pour additional money into a wall that will scar our environmental landscape and damage our relationship with communities across the border. Instead of deterring illegal immigration, the Wall will symbolize not only a failed immigration policy, but also a country barricading itself from the rest of the world. Thank you.
http://newspapertree.com/opinion/3086-a-brief-in-opposition-to-the-border-wall
November 14, 2008
El Paso County Attorney José R. Rodríguez was invited to testify last week before the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus (MALC) of the Texas House of Representatives in relation to the federal lawsuit the County and the City of El Paso filed this summer challenging Congress’ delegation of authority that allowed Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff to waive more than 30 federal, state, and local laws, in order to accelerate the construction of the border wall. You can view the testimony, with attachments, via the link below this article.
Rodriguez's argument was:
-- The number of undocumented immigrants apprehended by the Border Patrol dropped 60 percent in relation to the previous year.
-- That the billions of dollars that the federal government will spend building the border wall would be better invested in providing more resources to the federal agents that patrol the border.
-- That the border wall will negatively impact the water supply to many farmers in the Lower Valley and potentially affect the ability of the El Paso County Improvement District #1 to supply water to 50 percent of El Paso residents, as well as hinder bi-national efforts to re-introduce endangered species.
-- Harm conservation efforts that are underway to protect the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, in El Paso’s lower valley, and affect the cultural history of the region, as the border wall cuts through sacred ceremonial land used for centuries by the Ysleta Pueblo del Sur Tribe (Tigua).
***
José R. Rodríguez El Paso County Attorney Testimony to the Mexican American Legislative Caucus On the Border Wall November 13, 2008
I am El Paso County Attorney José R. Rodríguez. Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony to the Mexican American Legislative Caucus regarding the challenges and consequences El Paso County faces as a result of the construction of the Border Wall. The Texas/Mexico border and particularly my jurisdiction in El Paso, Texas is a unique bi-national community. An aerial view of our border community captures the seamless span of our metropolitan area that comprises well over 2 million people within the cities of El Paso and Juarez. El Paso and Juarez share more than just a physical barrier; they share a common identity and culture, and even history, that forms a unique demographic in our region. As such, El Paso’s ethnic, cultural, and linguistically distinct characteristics require a deeper understanding by lawmakers on the needs of this region. A multi-billion dollar Border Wall will serve no purpose other than to avoid the real issue that lawmakers must address- comprehension immigration reform. In fact, if the purpose of the Border Wall is to stop illegal immigration, data proves otherwise, instead showing that illegal immigrant apprehensions have decreased significantly in recent years. For El Paso County, a Border Wall represents not only a waste of time, money, and resources, but also a disruption of crucial waterways, desert ecosystems, sacred Native American land, and long-standing relations between the El Paso and Juarez communities.
El Paso’s Response
In El Paso there is wide spread opposition to the Border Wall. Recognizing that the relationship with its sister city transcends boundaries, El Paso has passed resolutions and filed lawsuits opposing the Border Wall. In 2006, El Paso County Commissioners approved a resolution recognizing the contributions immigrants have made to our communities and condemning efforts by the federal government to erect ineffective physical barriers such as a Border Wall to address illegal immigration. (See Attachment A) In my capacity as El Paso County Attorney, I joined other elected officials in signing a resolution advocating for comprehensive immigration reform legislation. (See Attachment B) El Paso County Commissioners renewed their stance against ineffective policies aimed at curbing illegal immigration by approving a resolution in May 2008 again recognizing immigrants’ contributions to the United States and calling for federal authorities to stop construction of the Border Wall. (See Attachment C) In Summer 2008, El Paso County joined the Texas Border Coalition’s lawsuit against the Wall and, along with the City of El Paso, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, El Paso County Water Improvement District #1, Hudspeth County Conservation and Reclamation District No. 1, Frontera Audubon Society, Friends of the Wildlife Corridor, and Friends of Laguna Atacosa National Wildlife Refuge filed a separate lawsuit challenging the unconstitutional delegation of authority that allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive more than 30 federal laws, as well as state and local laws, in order to accelerate construction of the Border Wall. Waiving these laws poses severe threats to El Paso County’s environment, water resources, Native American religious customs, economic development, and its ability to enforce state and local laws affecting our community. Although the El Paso federal court dismissed the lawsuit, the case is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The unprecedented waiver authority granted to the Secretary of Homeland Security raises several constitutional issues including whether waiver of state and local laws violates Texas’ sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Questionable Need for a Border Wall
Recent Department of Homeland Security statements claiming the Border Wall is needed in El Paso to obtain operation control of the border are refuted by the government’s success in keeping immigrants out. In 1993, Operation Hold the Line was implemented throughout the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector. The initiative placed Border Patrol agents in close proximity to one another along a certain area of the border to prevent illegal immigration. In 1992, one year before Operation Hold the Line began, the number of “deportable aliens located by the Border Patrol” was approximately 248,642. In 1994, one year after Operation Hold the Line was implemented, there was an immediate drop in apprehensions to 79,688, a 68 % decrease. Although subsequent years show some fluctuation in the number of arrests, recent years’ data indicate an overwhelmingly decrease in arrests. (See Attachment D) A recent article in the El Paso Times quotes Border Patrol officials as acknowledging that given current resources and zero tolerance policy against illegal immigrants, they “do not anticipate a surge of attempted illegal entries in the coming year”. (See Attachment E) This data clearly indicates that current resources and policies are effective in deterring illegal immigration, thus raising serious questions concerning the federal government’s insistence that a border wall is necessary to stop illegal immigration.
Disruption, Destruction, and Polarization within El Paso County
Impact to El Paso’s Water Supply
Located in El Paso’s lower valley, Water Improvement District #1 (WID) provides water for 69,010 acres of water right lands. According to the WID website, WID contains 156 square miles of water that delivers critical irrigation water to El Paso County residents. As a result of the Border Wall, the WID has been inundated with concerns from area farmers who are worried that the Border Wall would block access to irrigation water provided by the Riverside Canal and prevent them from sustaining their farmlands. Along the canal, the presence of border patrol vehicles is evident by the disintegration of the canal banks. Coupled with the placement of the Border Wall alongside the Riverside Canal, the ability of WID to maintain and control the flow of water that funnels through its canals is in jeopardy. The placement of the Border Wall along an area parallel to the Riverside Canal, along the south bank, poses several threats to El Paso’s water supply including the ability of WID maintenance workers to maintain control gates that direct the flow of water into a canal. Failure to properly maintain the canals could potentially prevent water from reaching the Jonathon Rogers Treatment Plant for processing and distribution to about 50% of El Paso County residents. To date nothing has been memorialized in writing between the WID and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to address WID’s concerns. In recent weeks, discussions have taken place between the two entities with CBP claiming to reduce the impact that the Border Wall will have by proposing to place the Border Wall up on the river’s levee. WID officials continue to warn that this proposal will affect their ability to maintain the canal and will require the WID to heavily invest in herbicides and special equipment.
Environmental Impact
The Border Wall’s anticipated adverse impacts on El Paso County’s desert ecosystem and economic development include serious long term effects to border wildlife and plants, a break in bi-national conservation efforts, and the loss of an emerging eco-tourism market. Although the extent of the long term effects of a Border Wall in the El Paso region is not immediately ascertainable, it is probable that they are irreversible and, over time, can lead to significant loss and even permanent destruction in the ecosystem of the border region. El Paso is a refuge for endangered species including the Mexican gray wolf. Studies indicate that the protection of wolf habitats require open corridors in the border region. Efforts by the United States and Mexico to provide safe habitats and reintroduce the Mexican gray wolf are in direct contrast to the construction of a border wall, which will hinder the free movement of the animal on both sides of the border. Mexico has been vocal in its opposition to the construction of the border wall in large measure because past efforts between the United States and Mexico were underway to protect vital border ecosystems. Decisions made by the United States to place the wall on sensitive environmental lands hinder efforts between the United States and Mexico to collaborate and work on innovative and important environmental issues that are unique to the border region. Rio Bosque Wetlands Park Construction and inevitable maintenance of the Border Wall will harm conservation efforts that are underway to protect the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. At Rio Bosque, the goal is to re-establish, over time, approximate examples of native plant and animal communities historically found in the river valley. The proposed wall would compromise their ability to achieve this goal which has already received substantial funding from the state and federal government. In a letter to the El Paso Sector Tactical Infrastructure Environmental Assessment (EA), John Sproul, Program Coordinator for Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, raises serious concerns regarding the placement of the wall. Sproul notes the various cumulative effects on Rio Bosque in his comments to the draft EA report: impacts to wildlife, including threatened and endangered species; visual impacts; and, access issues. (See Attachment F) Sproul’s comments regarding efforts by DHS to integrate those proposals were abandoned once the Secretary issued his waiver of all laws that would hinder the Wall from being built. Rio Bosque Wetlands Parks has the potential for becoming a haven for environmental enthusiasts, similar to the Sabal Palm Audubon Center in the Rio Grande Valley. However, the Rio Bosque is likely to fall victim to a similar fate that the Sabal Palm Audubon Center is facing as a result of the Border Wall. Thus, the goal of creating the Rio Bosque into a wetlands sanctuary and possible thriving tourist destination is now in jeopardy.
Cultural Impact to the Ysleta Pueblo del Sur Tribe
The Border Wall will cut through sacred ceremonial land to the Ysleta Pueblo del Sur Tribe (Tigua). This area covers approximately 6-7 miles from the Ysleta Port of Entry to Socorro, Texas. Discussions between the Tigua’s and the CBP were described by Tribal War Captain, Rick Quesada, as minimal at best and plans by Customs and Border Protection to disrupt the ceremonial area are still underway despite protests from the Tiguas.
Polarization between the El Paso and Juarez Communities To many of us, the Border Wall symbolizes a hostile barrier between two communities that have traditionally been closely intertwined. Its construction will impact Mexico’s relationship with the United States on many levels including diplomatic relations and local cooperation. El Paso and Juarez have historically worked close together on important policy issues that affect the community; for example, extending each other assistance during the heavy floods that blanketed the El Paso/Juarez region in 2006. The two communities routinely work jointly on local drug policy, pollution control, and bi-national health initiatives. Instead of bi-national cooperation, the border wall will create distrust and endanger the existing collaborative relationship between the two communities.
Finally, the Border Wall could potentially cause social, cultural, and familial ties in both communities to falter. Both U.S. citizens and Mexican citizens cross the border through the Ports of Entry to shop, visit family, attend schools and recreational events, and obtain medical care. The Border Wall would symbolize a hostile barrier and could potentially affect the cross border services and tourism that both populations take advantage of, causing both communities to suffer economic consequences.
Conclusion
As El Paso County Attorney I have provided testimony to the Texas Senate Committee on International Relations and Trade discussing border security and issues related to local enforcement of immigration law. The current focus on border security again brings to the forefront the need for lawmakers to engage in meaningful discussions regarding comprehensive immigration reform. A multi-billion dollar effort to construct the Border Wall simply does not make sense. At a time when America faces a severe financial crises it is simply irresponsible to pour additional money into a wall that will scar our environmental landscape and damage our relationship with communities across the border. Instead of deterring illegal immigration, the Wall will symbolize not only a failed immigration policy, but also a country barricading itself from the rest of the world. Thank you.
http://newspapertree.com/opinion/3086-a-brief-in-opposition-to-the-border-wall
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