Two Toxic Ideas: Border Fence, Border Poison

Isn't it enough that this country built about 700 miles of fencing along a 2,000-mile border with Mexico -- the previous administration's stunt gesture toward "border control" that ranks up there with the TSA yanking grannies out of line at the airport to show that it's protecting us from hijackers, and discrimination suits?

That infuriating fence is both inadequate and excessive. It despoiled hundreds of square miles of precious habitat and endangered thousands of species of flora and fauna while likely doing precious little to stop illegal immigration, merely moving corridors to unfenced areas. (Funnily enough, what's slowed the northward flow most effectively is the crummy economy on this side of the border. Mexicans are actually going back to Mexico as work disappears here.)

Yet now this administration's Customs and Border Protection wants to Vietnamize the border. It wants to defoliate miles and miles of brush along the banks of the Rio Grande so that no one can hide in the canebrakes.

What -- has some government contractor taken out a patent on some new chemical -- Agent Naranja?

More than 30 years after that fabled last helicopter left Vietnam, and this is what ranks as a big idea? Thankfully, the idea's on hold at the moment, mostly, I gather, to mollify the Mexicans. Americans living along the border have already had their property despoiled; the border law passed by Congress allows the fence to be no respecter of environmental concerns or property rights, all in the name of that unassailable imperative, homeland security.

I hope that the Obama administration will come to its senses, both about potentially poisoning the banks and waters of a vital river, and about continuing the building of this ridiculous fence. Where is the Janet Napolitano who, as governor of Arizona, famously said: Show me a 50-foot-tall fence and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder? Has Homeland Security bamboozled her out of that?

You want to patrol the border and keep the habitat poison-free at the same time? I hear there are a lot of Americans out of work. Let's use some of that stimulus money and that human capital we keep hearing about, and invite more Americans to put on a Border Patrol uniform.

And maybe, instead of killing those invasive-species bushes by indiscriminate aerial spraying that kills a lot of other things too, we can hire people to go in there and do some selective gardening. And if we still can't persuade Americans to do the job, there's a labor hiring hall right across the border.

Comments

[research]

Just require employers to enter the workers id info on an internet immigration site. They can hire the person if the immigration permits.

No fence, no poison, no problem.

[orangepetal]

I don't like the poison. Can't they de-brush the area by removing the plant with the root. I do think a fence should be built or public services will continue to be burdened. It's a choice Americans need to make and confront. Workers are needed, they should be allowed in in a more organized manner.

[artleads]

“I can't imagine a border fence displacing more than a handful of cactus plants and tumbleweeds every mile or so, something most Americans don't put much priority on.”

It's not only plants that are affected but also animals. Wildlife includes critters who do a lot to distribute flora and fauna along the border. As you say, many Americans might not care about that in the short run, although they might eventually down the road.

And what's so bad about getting thousand of unemployed to clean up along the border, working in partnership with Mexicans to make the border a thriving place for plants and animals? This would fulfil the administration's goal to revive the economy while simultaneously addressing education, energy/environment, and health. Some kind of positive, humane (and human) intervention along the border is in the best economic and social interest of the United States.

Creating a positive program along the border (that gives would-be illegal aliens an alternative to the northward trek) benefits America’s security and standing in the world more than would poisoning a river or building a fence.

[artleads]

"I can't imagine a border fence displacing more than a handful of cactus plants and tumbleweeds every mile or so, something most Americans don't put much priority on. "

It's not only plants that are affected but also animals. Wildlife includes critters who do a lot to distribute flora and fauna along the border. As you say, many Americans might not care about that in the short run, although they might eventually down the road.

And what's so bad about getting thousand of unemployed to clean up along the border, working in partnership with Mexicans to make the border a thriving place for plants and animals? This would fulfil the administration's goal to revive the economy while simultaneously addressing education, energy/environment, and health. Some kind of positive, humane (and human) intervention along the border is in the best economic and social interest of the United States.

Creating a positive program along the border (that gives would-be illegal aliens an alternative to the northward trek) benefits America’s security and standing in the world more than would poisoning a river or building a fence.

[Brittanicus]

The question about the environment along the border is laughable. Along the border is mounds of trash caused by the daily endless dash for crossing into America. The filth has been photographed and shown, by such organizations as AMERICAN PATROL. Piles of discarded clothing, plastic and excetment run the length of open areas. So don't lets mention the Environmentalists who say little or nothing, as they too have been paid of in grant money.

Sen. Harry Reid has become recognized with utter distaste and arrogance, because of his attitude to the American Worker. Americans have no trust in Senator Harry Reid, or his co-conspirator that includes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, or Dianne Feinstein. The inception of the first "Sanctuary Policy" was Feinstein's and now California is overloaded with illegal aliens. They are all catering to the open border--Special Interest lobby. That's why they killed E-Verify? A very efficient tool to remove Illegal aliens from the workplace. However E-Verify is still funded till September, and Reid, Pelosi better hope it is revitalized or--THEIR--jobs are on the chopping block.

If these lawmakers were interested in assisting the American worker, why would Homeland security chief suppress ICE raids? These political signatories who cut funding for the border fence, lied about its actual construction and it's physical length as well. Read their awful immigration grades at NUMBERSUSA. Call Washington to stop this travesty; 202-224-3121

[JEP57]

I can't imagine a border fence displacing more than a handful of cactus plants and tumbleweeds every mile or so, something most Americans don't put much priority on. The only ones that are infuriated about the border fence are people who have an axe to grind against the government taking a decisive stand against illegal immigration, including the illegals themselves. A 2000 mile fence including electronic surveillance would slow the invasion down to a trickle. Then they can apply to come in legally like everybody else has in the past.

[artleads]

“I can't imagine a border fence displacing more than a handful of cactus plants and tumbleweeds every mile or so, something most Americans don't put much priority on.”

It's not only plants that are affected but also animals. Wildlife includes critters who do a lot to distribute flora and fauna along the border. As you say, many Americans might not care about that in the short run, although they might eventually down the road.

And what's so bad about getting thousand of unemployed to clean up along the border, working in partnership with Mexicans to make the border a thriving place for plants and animals? This would fulfil the administration's goal to revive the economy while simultaneously addressing education, energy/environment, and health. Some kind of positive, humane (and human) intervention along the border is in the best economic and social interest of the United States.

Creating a positive program along the border (that gives would-be illegal aliens an alternative to the northward trek) benefits America’s security and standing in the world more than would poisoning a river or building a fence.