The WaPo has a nice story about a border fence we already have, in San Diego.
In the mid-1990s, the city was awash in illegal immigrants. Hundreds would gather by a soccer field near Otay Mesa, east of San Diego, and rush into the United States on what the Border Patrol termed “banzai runs.” During those years, Border Patrol agents routinely apprehended 200,000 illegal entrants a year in the sector. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) got funding to build a fence and thousands more Border Patrol officers were dispatched to the area. The number of crossers plummeted.
But the fence, originally estimated at $14 million, incurred huge cost overruns and logistical and legal hurdles. It took $39 million to build the first nine miles, and the fence has yet to be finished. For a decade, litigation has delayed construction of 3.5 miles of the structure because environmental groups have opposed a federal plan to lop the tops off two mesas and pour 5.5 million cubic feet of dirt into a valley, called “Smuggler’s Gulch,” to flatten the terrain. Environmental groups lost the case when the Department of Homeland Security invoked a law exempting it from federal and state regulations in the interest of national security. DHS recently appropriated an additional $35 million to complete the fence — for a total of $74 million, or more than $5 million a mile.
The fence in San Diego forced illegal traffic into the deserts to the east, leading thousands of migrants to their death. In response, the Border Patrol shifted thousands of agents to Arizona to deal with the flow. But many of those agents came from the San Diego and El Centro sectors. So once again, the number of crossers in San Diego and El Centro is increasing even though the two sectors are the most heavily fenced in the nation.
“Tucson now has 2,600 agents. San Diego has lost 1,000 agents. Guess where the traffic is going? Back to San Diego.” said T.J. Bonner, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, the main union for Border Patrol agents. “San Diego is the most heavily fortified border in the entire country, and yet it’s not stopping people from coming across.”
Who cares? Don’t you know it’s all about making important symbolic gestures? It’s not whether or not you solve a problem, it’s whether or not you look tough. Just don’t pay any attention to the man behind the curtain.
On a much brighter note, I’m pleased to pass along the following press release from Lt. Col. and State Rep. Rick Noriega:
The family of Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Rick Noriega wishes to announce that he has returned from service on the Texas border as Sector Commander for Operation Jump Start, the National Guard effort assisting the US Border Patrol with drug interdiction and border operations. LTC Noriega came off active duty orders October 11, 2006, and he resumed his House seat to stand for re-election in November and to prepare to return to Austin for the 80th Legislative Session in January, 2007.
LTC Noriega commanded approximately 300 troops in Laredo, one of the nine sectors of the US-Mexico border, five of which are in Texas. LTC Noriega left Houston in May to assist in the stand-up of the effort out of Camp Mabry in Austin and has been on orders in Laredo since June. During his time in Laredo, the joint effort seized hundreds of pounds of cocaine and marijuana, as well as assisting in other border operations.
“I am once again grateful to be home with my family, first from Afghanistan and now from the border; I am honored to have served with the Texas Guard and the Border Patrol. It was a privilege to get to know the Laredo community – it is a city like no other in Texas. At the same time, there is no place like home,” said Colonel Noriega.
The family will be celebrating the representative’s return in the next few weeks, and wishes to thank all the Members of the Texas House, the folks of the East End, CenterPoint Energy, their family and others who have once again supported Melissa and the Noriega family through another military deployment.
Welcome home, Rick Noriega. I know I speak for everyone here when I say we’re very glad for your safe return.
I will be sitting down with Rep. Noriega in the near future to interview him about his experiences in Laredo. I look forward to bringing that to you.