BROWNSVILLE, Tex., (By
Christopher Sherman, Associated
Press) October 10, 2009
―
Members of Congress have
stripped a provision requiring
300 more miles of fencing along
the U.S.-Mexico border from a
Department of Homeland Security
appropriation bill, saying that
the money needed would be better
spent on alternative security
measures.
If the amendment by Sen. Jim
DeMint (R-S.C.) had remained in
the bill, tall fencing to stop
undocumented immigrants and
smugglers on foot would have
been installed along 700 miles
of border ― a plan that many
officials and residents along
the border have opposed.
DeMint's provision said that 300
miles of low-rise vehicle
barriers and virtual fencing ―
featuring technologies such as
cameras and sensors ― planned
for the area could not count
toward the 700 miles of barrier
the U.S. government had promised
to build.
The provision was not included
in the House's Homeland Security
appropriation bill and, when the
two bills were melded during
conference, seven border-state
congressmen asked House leaders
to strip the amendment from the
final bill.
"The DeMint amendment
represented an unproductive and
inefficient border security
strategy," Rep. Henry Cuellar
(D-Tex.), who represents the
border city of Laredo, said in a
statement Thursday. "We need to
invest and secure our border and
our land ports without being
tied down to an amendment out of
touch with border needs."
The General Accounting Office
reported last month maintaining
the border fence would cost $6.5
billion during the next 20
years. That would be on top of
the $2.4 billion spent to build
it.
DeMint voiced his disappointment
Friday.
"Democrats are gutting the best
tool we have to secure our
borders," he said. "Virtual
fencing won't solve the problem,
and we need a real fence to
deter the real problems of
undocumented immigration,
terrorism, drug trafficking and
human trafficking."
On Friday, a federal judge in
Brownsville said he sympathized
with property owners whose land
condemnation cases have dragged
on as the government continues
to tweak its plans for the
border fence. More than 200
south Texas landowners have not
settled their condemnation cases
with the government, and
attorneys for some complained
that each change in the
government's plans costs their
clients money because of the
delay and the need for new
appraisals.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen
said his inclination was to deny
the property owners' request to
dismiss the government's cases,
but he would look at any other
proposals that would allow
property owners to recover some
of their expenses.
Hanen also left in place an
order suspending the
government's possession of
several pieces of property,
preventing construction of one
of the final fence segments,
east of Brownsville.
The first compensation trial for
one of the Texas border fence
land condemnation cases is
scheduled for December.
