Discounting the value of federal fencing and minutemen watching illegal immigrants crossing the U. S.-Mexican border.
| Author | Villanueva, A.B. |
Introduction
Just as President George W. Bush, Jr. proclaimed "Mission Accomplished" in a large banner displayed behind him as he stood aboard a warship and announced that the Iraq war was over, so did he declare the success of border fencing and militarizing as he spoke in Yuma, Arizona in 2007 with stadium lights illuminating the fence constructed along the U.S.-Mexico border. The President said that tougher border enforcement including a fence with electronic sensing devices and militarization with the deployment of the National Guard had sharply reduced the flow of illegal immigrants. A reduction of apprehension of illegal immigrants in the Yuma sector by 65% from the previous year and 30% in the last six months in the same period last year were cited to support his declaration (1). With these figures, the President assured the nation that the border is under control. The validity and significance of these figures confirmed a recent report of the Center of Immigration Studies attributing the decline of the illegal alien population as a result of tougher border enforcement measures.
Some immigration observers have challenged the veracity of these figures. Douglas Massey said it is all "smoke and mirrors" because it overlooks those who come legally and remain in the country after their visas expire. (2) Along the same line, Wayne Cornelius pointed out that in 1993, when stricter border enforcement was launched, there was a increase in the size of the illegal alien population. Joining the chorus of criticism, a reporter from the Arizona Daily Star wrote that the President's press conference in Yuma is a "dog and pony" show and doubted if the people will believe him (3).
Border Fence, Native Americans, and Private Property
The border fence required by Congress to be built by the end of 2008 will be in specific sections of the boundary between the United States and Mexico. It does not cover the entire length of the border . (See map on Figure I). The proposed fence will have a negative effect on four Native American lands: Tohono O'odham in southern Arizona, the Kickapoo in southern Texas, the Kumeyaay in southern California, and the Cocopah in the delta of the lower Colorado river. The Tohono O'odhams live on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border--an area of 2.8 million acres of desert land, 75 miles of which lies in southern Arizona in the U.S. southwest and Sonora in northern Mexico. Most of the 25,000 Tohonos live in the American side and the rest in the Mexican side of the borderland. Members of the Tohono Nation on both sides cross the border to visit relatives. The Tohonos from Sonora, Mexico cross the border to go to their capital in Sells, Arizona for health services or participate religious ceremonies like the Saguaro Wine Feast, while those in the American side cross the border when they make a pilgrimage to celebrate the feast of St. Francis in Magdalena, Mexico. A border fence on their land will have a negative effect on their cultural, social and religious activities (4).
Similarly, the Kickapoo Tribe in the Eagle Pass area in southern Texas will be affected by the fence. The border fence between Del Rio and Eagle Pass will divide the land where they live. It will separate their members and threaten their culture (5). So does the border fence in the area of San Diego, California where the Kumeyaay Nation live in their land stretching from the San Diego and Imperial counties to 60 miles south of the border into Baja California. (6) So, too, will the Cocopah Tribe have their land divided by the fence. Their land is located in the southwestern end of Arizona along the Colorado river extending 13 miles south of Yuma, Arizona and 15 miles north of San Luis, Mexico. A fence between Calexico, California from the west and Douglas, Arizona to the east will divide their land which the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo sliced in 1848. They resent the presence of civilian patrols like the Yuma Patriots when they tread on their land in search for unauthorized migrants (7).
Farmers, ranchers and businessmen in the Rio Grande valley have expressed their support to the Texas Border Coalition which opposed the construction of the fence between Del Rio and Eagle Pass, Texas (8). The farmers and ranchers feel that the fence will block their access to the waters of the Rio Grande. Likewise, businessmen and political leaders believe that the fence will hurt the regional economy which thrives on cross-border commerce (9). Mexicans cross the border daily to make bank deposits, buy real estate, shop at the stores and work in various establishments. The fence will generate ill-feelings by Mexicans and slow down economic activity (10).
Border Fence and the UTB Campus
Along the Rio Grande, a fence will be installed from Laredo to Brownsville. The fence that will be built in the Brownsville area will cut through the campus of the University of Texas. A special feature of the fence is that it will be built on top of the levee north of the International, Technology, Education and Commerce Campus (ITECC). As a result, this part of the university will be placed on the Mexican side of the fence. Moreover, the fence will also be built on top of the levee just south of the Scorpion baseball field and of the Education and Business Complex (EDC) parking lot. The golf course located south of these facilities will be virtually separated from the campus and placed on the Mexican side of the fence. There will be an opening provided in the fence designed to channel illegal entrants along the golf course, the baseball park and the new soccer field. The university feels that these features will compromise the safety of students and jeopardize the security of the campus. President Juliet V. Garcia of UTB, in her comments on the proposed fence, said that the proposed fence undermines the mission of the university "to convene the cultures of its community, foster an appreciation of the unique heritage of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, encourage the development and application of bilingual abilities in its students and provide academic leadership to the intellectual, cultural, social and economic life of the bi-national urban region it serves." (11)
Furthermore, she said that the fence "would have environmental impact, disrupt the ecological system of our region and obstruct the ongoing development of bike trails, jogging paths and eco-trails characteristic of our campus culture." (12) Furthermore, she pointed out that the "campus encompasses several ... significant historical sites, including historical Fort Brown and Fort Texas. The proposed site of the fence would place...
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