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Construction of Texas/Mexico Border Fence Imminent
Michael Chertoff, the US Homeland Security Secretary, has stated that he anticipates that construction of a border fence, separating Texas and Mexico, will begin in the next few weeks. Although promising to confer with communities affected by the move as to the design of this fence, he said that the option to veto it entirely would not be given. In discussion with the'Houston Chronicle' publication, Mr Chertoff confirmed "I expect we'll be doing some construction in Texas this fiscal year."
At the end of 2006, the US President, George W. Bush, signed a declaration for the construction of a fence, 700 miles long, demarcating the North/South American border. According to Homeland Security, over half of this length will comprise of actual "physical" fencing, while sensors, camera and other technology make up the "virtual" remainder. Texas itself will accommodate around 150 miles of the fencing.
Border officials have raised several linked concerns - citing factors such as a possible negative impact on relations with Mexico, in addition to the effect it could have on wildlife and flood defences. According to Mr Chertoff, some level of discussion will take place with local communities, regarding the type of fencing employed. He has ruled out notions of it being a solid wall, or a paired line of fencing on either side of the divide.
One critic is Raul G Salinas, the Mayor of the town of Laredo. He stated: "I understand we don't have veto power, but I hope the citizens of Laredo, the business community, the ranchers and farmers, will have an opportunity to speak about this issue. If you're going to construct something in your neighborhood, aren't you going to tell them?"
In the eyes of Mr Chertoff, the security aspect of the fence is a primary concern. He detailed this further, stating: "(security is paramount)...because the fence is not only to protect the border communities, it's to protect the country." To this, he added that local cases of individual protest are not so much of an issue, detailing that border control cannot be "driven by local preferences. I can't, in fairness, say to the rest of the country, 'Well, jeez, I'd like to help you out but there's a particular landowner who doesn't want to be disturbed, so we're out of luck."
Source - Construction International's US Correspondent