Border fence project’s slow pace raises concerns

updated 8:12 p.m. ET July 13, 2007

SAN DIEGO - Bulldozers are rolling again on the U.S.-Mexico border, moving hundreds of tons of dirt to make way for a 16-foot steel fence in an area that once was the most popular crossing for illegal immigrants.

But before the construction resumed recently, the 14-mile project in San Diego was stalled for years by legal challenges from environmentalists, budget problems and difficulties buying land. Those delays are now raising doubts about a government plan to extend fencing to 370 miles of the Mexican border.

The Bush administration, under pressure to tighten border security, wants all 370 miles done by the end of next year.

“If past experience is any guide, it will cost a lot more than anyone expected and take a lot longer than anyone is talking about right now,” said David Shirk, director of the University of San Diego’s Trans-Border Institute, which studies border issues.

The Homeland Security Department has yet to say where it will build fences in California, Arizona and New Mexico. And the only proposal made public so far — for Texas — drew immediate criticism and is being reworked. Opponents worried it would limit access to the Rio Grande, damage the environment and infuriate Mexicans who cross the border to shop and visit.

The 1,952-mile border stretches over sensitive terrain, including two national wildlife refuges in Arizona. And negotiations for land owned by scores of ranchers and Indian tribes may be challenging.

'Huge problem'
Democratic Rep. Silvestre Reyes of Texas predicted the construction of so much fencing will be a “huge problem,” noting opposition among many residents and even some Border Patrol field leaders who would prefer the money be spent on manpower and equipment.

The San Diego fence, tilted 45 degrees at the top to deter climbers, starts at the coastline and stretches 14 miles inland. Construction began in 1996, and there are still five miles to go.

Until the mid-1990s, illegal immigrants had crossed in droves. They would slip across the border and huddle on U.S. soil as the handful of Border Patrol agents assigned to the area watched from a distance. When night fell, they ran for it.

“It was a never-ending battle, and we were losing very badly,” said Don McDermott, a Border Patrol supervisor who worked the area in the 1980s.

The nine miles of fencing completed so far have had a dramatic impact, along with more manpower and stadium lighting.

Arrests are way down in San Diego, but traffic shifted to Arizona deserts.

Those people who do make it across are increasingly desperate. More immigrants are attempting to swim across the border or crawl through crude tunnels, said Raleigh Leonard, supervisor of the Border Patrol’s Imperial Beach station.

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