Government Sues Landowners and Waives Environmental Laws to Finish Border Fence
...but the project may not be completed anyway.
It begins with an innocent offer with a small incentive: the U.S. Border Patrol offers landowners along the Texas-Mexico border $100 to survey their land. Of course, you legally have a right to refuse. But, after all, it's $100.
Many people did refuse, according to various news sources. And then, the government sued them. Their intention was to survey the land in preparation for finishing a proposed 370 miles of border fence by the end of the year. Landowners in possession of land that borders the Rio Grande River-the de facto border between the U.S. and Mexico across the southern part of major sections of Texas-had little choice in the matter.
The plans for the fence have been in the works for years, but were formally recognized in 2006 in the form of House Resolution 6061, which passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 283 to 138. The Senate then confirmed the measure 80-19. The Resolution gave the Department of Homeland Security the authority to proceed with plans for a nearly 700-mile physical fence between the U.S.-Mexico border. Currently, a fence exists only in certain high-traffic areas.
Now the government is indicating that it is making completion of the fence a top priority by moving forward with plans to build, despite the resistance of landowners to give up their land and despite many other obstacles that the plan faces.
One major obstacle is the ecological system that the Rio Grande River valley contains. Many areas contain environmentally-sensitive lands that provide habitat for endangered species or those that are protected by government regulations. Yet the government has decided, according to new reports, to waive more than 30 environmental regulations in order to continue with the building process.
And that's not all. Building and zoning regulations in place that vary from city to city and county to county across the length of the border are proving to be difficult to overcome as well. In all, administrative processes hinder building along 215 miles of border land.
Many observers suggest that with all of the assessments and studies required in order to comply with other government regulations, the Department of Homeland Security has little to no chance to complete the fence by the end of the year. Politically speaking, the goal of finishing before President Bush's term of office is up looks to be close to impossible.