Officials Along Border Seek Veto of Fence
 Fort Worth Star-Telegram
| | Texas border communities fear that the legislation would require a fence to be built in or along the Rio Grande, endangering wildlife, reducing property values and marring a pristine view of the river. |
City and county officials along the Texas border are joining the Mexican government in urging President Bush to veto legislation to erect 700 miles of border fencing in all four states neighboring Mexico.
'What a goofy idea,' said Mayor Chad Foster of Eagle Pass, chairman of the Texas Border Coalition, which is composed of mayors and county leaders from most major communities along the state's 1,200-mile border with Mexico.
Foster, in a telephone interview Tuesday, said the coalition plans a letter-writing campaign and may send a delegation to Washington as part of an effort to persuade Bush to reject the fence legislation that cleared Congress last week. The legislation calls for five sections of reinforced fencing along one-third of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.
Bush has said he will sign the bill, but has not set a date. Mexico's Foreign Ministry is also urging Bush to veto the bill, saying physical barriers on the border would hurt U.S.-Mexico relations and create a 'climate of tension in the border communities.'
Although proponents of the legislation envision impenetrable barriers and adjacent patrol roads, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, predicted Tuesday that the ultimate result is likely to be a combination of elements.
'I think what will happen is there will be a mix of ... Border Patrol, technology [and] physical barriers that will determine how best to secure the border,' Cornyn said.
The Homeland Security Department is working with the Boeing Corp. to erect a multibillion-dollar 'virtual fence' with sensors, radar, cameras, unmanned aerial drones and other gadgetry.
Foster said Texas border communities fear that the legislation would require a fence to be built in or along the Rio Grande, endangering wildlife, reducing property values and marring a pristine view of the river.
'None of us favor anybody building a fence,' said Foster.
Among the cities represented by the coalition are El Paso, Brownsville, Laredo, McAllen, Del Rio, Harlingen, Mission, Hidalgo, Edinburg and Pharr. |
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News from Around the Americas | October 2006 
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