Border Standoff Over Proposed Fence
CNN has written about the continuing saga of the Texas-Mexico border fence and the property owners denying the government access to their lands. This article discuss land owned by Eloisa Tamez. Here are excerpts:
Michael Chertoff, the Secretary of Homeland Security, said the fence will not be stopped by opponents like Tamez.
"Can we simply abandon an enterprise because it is a problem for a particular individual?" Chertoff told CNN. "I don't think I can accept that."
Chertoff believes a fence would curb the steady stream of illegal immigrants making their way across the border and lessen the flow of drugs. He also argues it will increase the safety of Border Patrol agents who have faced increasing violence.
The government wants to build 700 miles of fence along the Mexican border, including 370 miles of it by the end of this year. About 70 miles of fence is to be built in the Rio Grande Valley by year's end, if the government gets its way.
The Border Patrol has stepped up its efforts in the Rio Grande Valley with more lights, and sensors to pick up movement. A levee built along the river has a muddy road on top used by Border Patrol vehicles to patrol the area.
Richard Cortez, the mayor of the border town of McAllen, Texas, believes hiring more Border Patrol agents, deepening the Rio Grande River, and clearing its banks of tall vegetation would provide better border protection than the fence.
Cortez calls the fence "a multibillion dollar speed bump," which will slow, but not stop, illegal immigration.
"It is a false sense of security," he says. "America will not be safe. America will continue to waste resources on something that is not going to work."
