Progress on fence, but barriers remain

Homeland Security officials had plenty of incentive to trumpet their success in completing 70 miles of new border fencing by the self-imposed deadline of Sept. 30.

President Bush’s administration desperately needs to combat public impressions that Washington can’t get anything right when it comes to immigration and border enforcement. Those opinions have been the most critical factor in thwarting broader immigration reforms that will be needed for long-term protection of our national security and economic health.

As the Tribune’s Paul Giblin reported Sept. 29, most of those 70 miles of fencing have been built near towns on the Arizona-Mexico border. The ability of the Department of Homeland Security to finish these fences on time increases the likelihood that the federal government will reach its bigger goal of completing 370 miles of barriers across the desert by the end of 2008.

But there are still challenges ahead. A significant portion of the next phase in fence construction is slated for Texas, where there have been widespread protests that deeply embedding concrete-and-steel posts connected by mesh wire strands will displace wildlife, divert washes and creeks, and even disrupt farming operations. One of our sister newspapers, the Valley Morning Call, reported Sept. 29 that private property owners in the Rio Grande Valley are refusing to cooperate with surveyors and other contractors trying to prepare for fence construction. Homeland Security officials are talking about the potential of eminent domain property seizures or using other federal powers to keep the project moving.

A variety of residents along the Arizona border have similar concerns about physical barriers, which is one reason why the federal government is working on “virtual fences” in more rural areas. Homeland Security has contracted with Boeing for a series of 98-foot-high towers that will feature cameras and motion-sensor technology intended to direct Border Patrol agents to illegal immigrants.

Even the “virtual fence” has sparked opposition. Arizona property owners near Arivaca have complained about a planned tower there as too far from the border and giving federal officials a direct view into their own backyards.

And as we noted on these pages Sept. 15, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff has suspended payments to Boeing because the fancy gadgetry already installed isn’t working all that well.

We guess Chertoff and his staff had a good reason to pat themselves on the back Sept. 30. Any progress on border security in the current climate is something to cheer about.