April 7, 2008
FAIR
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a pair of waivers, allowing the agency to bypass lengthy environmental reviews that would likely delay construction of the border fence. The first waiver deals with 470 miles of so-called "project areas" or regions of high illegal entry along the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
The second would allow the agency to build fencing up to 18 feet high into a 22-mile stretch of levee in Hidalgo County, Texas. (DHS Press Release, April 1, 2008) Homeland Security has used its waiver authority on three previous occasions to surmount environmental hurdles blocking construction efforts along limited portions of the border. (New York Times, April 2, 2008)
To see the locations in which the environmental and land use waivers will be in effect, click here and here.
The waivers allow the agency to avoid complying with nearly 30 environmental and other laws in building the fence. Justifying the move, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asserted Tuesday, "Criminal activity at the border does not stop for endless debate or protracted litigation." (DHS Press Release, April 1, 2008) At the same time, Chertoff said that in moving forward, he would continue to be both sensitive to environmental concerns and seek out public comment. "DHS is neither compromising its commitment to responsible environmental stewardship nor its commitment to solicit and respond to the needs of state, local and tribal governments." (Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2008)
Opponents of the waiver have argued that in some places, construction of the fence along the border will negatively impact vegetation, water qualify, and wildlife. (Washington Post, April 2, 2008) According to Sierra Club Executive Dirctor Carl Pope, "The Bush administration's latest waiver of environmental and other federal laws threatens the livelihoods and ecology of the entire U.S.-Mexico region." (Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2008)
Supporters of the waiver argue that the fence does not cause as much environmental damage as illegal immigration, pointing to a Fiscal Year 2006 Bureau of Land Management report for support. This report found that illegal aliens crossing into the U.S. created over 50 new routes through open land and used springs for bathing and dumping trash, leaving nearly 1,060,000 pounds or 530 tons of litter behind. In addition, the report found that smugglers driving along remote waterways decimated endangered species habitat, including the Sonoran pronghorn, desert tortoise, several fish and plants. The BLM reported that it spent almost $1 million restoring damaged habitat. To read the report, click here.
SOURCE: FAIR
Stay tuned to FAIR for more information on immigration-related activity in the House
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, nonprofit, public-interest, membership organization of concerned citizens who share a common belief that our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the national interest. FAIR seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and to promote immigration levels consistent with the national interestmore traditional rates of about 300,000 a year.
