United States–Mexico barrier

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Fence barrier on the international bridge near McAllen, TX .
Fence barrier on the international bridge near McAllen, TX .
Barrier at the pedestrian border crossing in Tijuana
Barrier at the pedestrian border crossing in Tijuana
Mexican family enjoys the beach on the US side of the barrier at the Pacific Ocean in San Ysidro, California by sliding through the unbraced iron poles or simply going around the end.
Mexican family enjoys the beach on the US side of the barrier at the Pacific Ocean in San Ysidro, California by sliding through the unbraced iron poles or simply going around the end.

The United States–Mexico barrier, also known as the Texas border wall or Texas border fence is actually several separation barriers designed to prevent illegal movement across the U.S.-Mexico border. The barriers were built as part of two larger "Operations" to taper transportation of illegal drugs manufactured in Latin America and illegal immigration: Operation Gatekeeper in California, Operation Hold-the-Line in Texas, and Operation Safeguard in Arizona. The barriers are strategically placed to mitigate the flow of illegal border crossings along the United States-Mexico international border into the geographically vulnerable Southwestern United States. Pro-Mexican immigration groups criticize the barriers as an ineffective deterrant that inappropriately jeopardize the health and safety of those seeking illegal entry into the United States.

Contents

[edit] Impact of the Barriers on Illegal Crossings

The 1,952 mile (3141 km) border between the United States and Mexico traverses a variety of terrains, including urban areas and deserts. The barrier is located in the urban sections of the border, the areas that have been the location of the greatest number of illegal crossings in the past. These urban areas include San Diego, California and El Paso, Texas. As a result of the success of the barrier, there has been a marked increase in the number of people trying to illegally cross the Sonoran Desert and crossing over the Baboquivari Mountain in Arizona. Such illegal immigrants must cross 50 miles (80 km) of inhospitable terrain to reach the first road, which is located in the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation.[citation needed]Around five thousand people have died or been killed trying to cross the border in the last thirteen years, according to a document created by the Human Rights National Commission of Mexico, also signed by the American Civil Liberties Union[1] Between October 1, 2003, and April 30, 2004, 660,390 people were detained by the United States Border Patrol as they tried to cross the border illegally. Between 43 and 61 people died trying to cross the Sonoran Desert during that same time period; three times that of the same period the previous year.[citation needed] In October 2004 the Border Patrol announced that 325 people had died crossing the entire border during the previous 12 months.[citation needed] Between 1998 and 2004, 1,954 persons are officially reported to have died along the US-Mexico border. (See also Immigrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border.)

In recent years people of non-Mexican origin have also been using the Mexican border to secure access to the USA. (The U.S. Border Patrol refers to those from other countries as "Other Than Mexican").[citation needed]

[edit] Barrier Status

U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), then chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, proposed a plan to the House on Thursday, November 3, 2005 calling for the construction of a reinforced fence along the entire United States – Mexican border. This would also include a 100 yard border zone on the U.S. side. On December 15, 2005, Congressman Hunter's amendment to H.R. 4437 passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. This plan calls for mandatory fencing along 698 miles (1,123 km) of the Mexican border.[2] On May 17, 2006 the U.S. Senate proposed with S. 2611 what could be 370 miles of triple layered-fencing and a vehicle fence. Although that bill died in committee, eventually the Secure Fence Act of 2006 was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush on October 26, 2006.

U.S.-Mexico Border at the Pacific Ocean in San Ysidro, California. (Tire tracks from Border Patrol jeeps are visible on the beach.)
U.S.-Mexico Border at the Pacific Ocean in San Ysidro, California. (Tire tracks from Border Patrol jeeps are visible on the beach.)

The government of Mexico, as well as intellectuals of that country and ministers of several Latin American countries have condemned the plans.[3] Rick Perry, governor of Texas, also expressed his opposition saying that instead of closing the border it should be opened more and through technology support legal and safe migration.[4] The barrier expansion has also been opposed by a unanimous vote of the Laredo, Texas City Council.[5] Laredo's Mayor, Raul G. Salinas, is concerned about defending his town's people by saying that the Bill which includes miles of border wall would devastate Laredo. He states "these are people that are sustaining our economy by forty percent, and I am gonna [sic] close the door on them and put [up] a wall? You don't do that. It's like a slap in the face." He hopes that Congress would revise the Bill that better reflects the realities of life on the border.[6]

[edit] Secure Fence Act

Beach in Tijuana.
Beach in Tijuana.

House Resolution 6061 (H.R. 6061), "Secure Fence Act of 2006", was introduced on September 13, 2006. It passed through the U.S. House of Representatives on September 14, 2006 with a vote of 283 to 138.

On September 29, 2006, by a vote of 80 to 19 the U.S. Senate confirmed H.R. 6061 authorizing, and partially funding the "possible" construction of 700 miles (1,125 km) of physical fence/barriers along the border. The very broad support implies that many assurances have been made by the Administration, to the Democrats, Mexico, and the pro "Comprehensive immigration reform" minority within the GOP, that Homeland Security will proceed very cautiously. Michael Chertoff, announced that an eight-month test of the virtual fence, he favors, will precede any construction of a physical barrier. Any large scale fence construction will occur late in the Bush presidency, if at all, prior to a new administration.

On October 26, 2006, President George W. Bush signed H.R. 6061 which was voted upon and passed by the 109th Congress of the United States.[7] The signing of the bill comes right after a CNN poll shows us that most Americans "prefer the idea of more Border Patrol agents to a 700-mile (1,125-kilometer) fence."[8] There is a down payment of $1.2 billion to the Department of Homeland Security marked for border security, but not specifically for the border fence.

[edit] Rethinking the expansion

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) announced in January 2007 that Congress will revisit the fence plan, while committee chairs are holding up funding until a comprehensive border security plan is presented by the Department of Homeland Security. Both Senators from Texas, John Cornyn (R-TX) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), advocate revising the plan.[5]

Construction of the border fence will not be subject to any laws. This is because in 2005 the Real ID Act, attached as a rider to a supplemental appropriations bill funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, decreed, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive all legal requirements such Secretary, in such Secretary’s sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section.” On September 22, 2005, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff used his new power to “waive in their entirety” the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act to extend triple fencing through the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve near San Diego.[citation needed] The Real ID Act further stipulates that his decisions are not subject to judicial review, and in December 2005 a federal judge dismissed legal challenges by the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, and others to Chertoff’s decision.

[edit] Controversy

Steel barrier wall near Mariposa port of entry, Nogales Sonora, Mexico. Viewpoint: from Sonora northeast to Arizona.
Steel barrier wall near Mariposa port of entry, Nogales Sonora, Mexico. Viewpoint: from Sonora northeast to Arizona.

There are three Native American Nations whose lands would be divided by the proposed border fence.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

In the spring of 2007 more than 25 landowners, including a corporation and a school district, from Hidalgo and Starr county in Texas refused border fence surveys, which would determine what land was eligible for building on, as an act of protest. [1]

Eloisa Garcia Tamez, a Lipan Apache of Encantada-Ranchito El Calaboz, Texas rancheria, challenged the United States Department of Homeland Security, the Customs Border Patrol and the Army Corps of Engineers in a constitutional law case, Eloisa G. Tamez v. Michael Chertoff/U.S. Department Homeland Security. Civil Action #1:08-CV-044[2]

The proposed route for the border fence would divide the campus of the University of Texas at Brownsville into two parts, according to Antonio N. Zavaleta, a vice president of the university. [14] (Map of proposed route: [3])

Mexico has urged the US to alter its plans for expanded fences along their shared border, saying they would damage the environment and harm wildlife. [4]

In June 2007 it was announced that a section of the barrier had been mistakenly built from 1 to 6 feet inside Mexican territory. This will necessitate the section being moved at an estimated cost of over 3 million dollars. [5]

In September 2007 a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson announced that 60-75 percent of the protected lands and refuges in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas would be affected by the border wall. Several environmental groups claimed it would be a major detriment, as it would block river access and destroy essential vegetation for many native and migratory species. [6]

On January 27, 2008 a U.S. Native American human rights delegation, which included Margo Tamez, (Lipan Apache-Jumano Apache) and Teresa Leal (Opata-Mayo) reported the removal of the official International Boundary obelisks of 1848 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the Las Mariposas, Sonora-Arizona sector of the Mexico-U.S. border. The obelisks were moved southward approximately 20 meters, onto the property of private land-owners in Sonora, as part of the larger project of installing the 18 foot steel barrier wall.[7]

In April 2008 the Department of Homeland security announced plans to waive more than 30 environmental and cultural laws to speed construction of the barrier. Despite claims from Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff that the department would minimize the construction's impact on the environment, critics in Arizona and Texas asserted the fence endangered species and fragile ecosystems along the Rio Grande. Environmentalists expressed concern about butterfly migration corridors and the future of two species of local wildcats, the ocelot and the jaguarundi. [8]

[edit] Public opinion in the United States

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, public opinion polls using neutral language "show that voters often do not share their candidate's positions" related to immigration policies in the U.S.[9]

In recent polls, opinions regarding immigration have shifted. Generally, Hispanic and Asian communities favor more open borders and legalization, while Whites and Blacks favor enforcement and closed borders; When queried to rate most to least important issues, 2008 polls revealed that only 10% rate immigration as their "top issue," whereas (40%) rate the economy as most important, (20%) rate the Iraq War as most important, and (20%) rate healthcare as most important. [10] [15]

An August 18, 2007 Rasmussen Reports poll reported that polled Americans favored building a fence along the U.S. border with Mexico, by a margin of 56 percent in favor and 31 percent against. The poll found that among those who identified themselves as Republicans 75 percent supported building a fence along the border. [16]

[edit] References

  1. ^ El Universal de Mexico (Spanish)http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/463596.html, Retrieved on 09/11/2007
  2. ^ HUNTER PROPOSAL FOR STRATEGIC BORDER FENCING PASSES HOUSE (2005). Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  3. ^ Stevenson, Mark. Mexico Promises to Block Border Wall Plan. Retrieved on 2006-03-07.
  4. ^ Rechaza gobernador de Texas muro fronterizo (Spanish). Retrieved on 2006-03-07.
  5. ^ a b James Rowley, "U.S.-Mexico Border Fence Plan Will Be 'Revisited' By Congress," Bloomberg, January 17, 2007.
  6. ^ Kahn, Carrie. "Immigration Debate Divides Laredo", NPR, 2006-07-08. Retrieved on 2007-09-28. 
  7. ^ ABC News: Bush Signs U.S.-Mexico Border Fence Bill. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
  8. ^ Bush OKs 700-mile border fence - CNN.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
  9. ^ Border Fence to Divide Three Native American Nations
  10. ^ O'odham tell U.N. rapporteur of struggles Indian Country, October 31, 2005
  11. ^ Fence In The Sky -- Border Wall Cuts Through Native Land
  12. ^ As Border Crackdown Intensifies, A Tribe Is Caught in the Crossfire Washington Post, September 15, 2006
  13. ^ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS IN THE BORDER REGION WITH MEXICO Amnesty International, May 20, 1998
  14. ^ Some Texans Fear Border Fence Will Sever Routine of Daily Life New York Times, June 20, 2007
  15. ^ George E. Condon, Jr., "Growers Hope Immigration Debate Resonates in Presidential Campaign," [San Diego] "San Diego Union Tribune, April 7, 2008
  16. ^ Joe Murray, "Poll: Americans Frustrated With Immigration Crisis," [Philadelphia] "Evening Bulletin, August 21, 2007

16. "Kenin: In Praise of Margo and Eloisa Tamez," Kenin, Wendy. Rio Grande Guardian, January 2, 2008.

[edit] See also

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[edit] External links