Court rejects case on border fence
WASHINGTON (AP) - June 23, 2008 Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has used authority
given to him by Congress in 2005 to ignore environmental and other
laws and regulations to move forward with hundreds of miles of
fencing in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.
The case rejected by the court involved a two-mile section of
fence in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area near
Naco, Ariz. The section has since been built.
As of June, 13, 331 miles of fencing have been constructed in
California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
"I am extremely disappointed in the court's decision," Rep.
Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said. "This waiver will only prolong the
department from addressing the real issue: their lack of a
comprehensive border security plan."
Thompson chairs the House Homeland Security Committee. He and 13
other House democrats - including six other committee chairs -
filed a brief in support of the environmentalists' appeal.
Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Homeland Security Department,
said, "The American people expect this department to enforce the
rule of law at the border. He added that the department is happy
with the court's decision.
"As fence construction proceeds," Knocke said, "the
department will continue to be a good steward of the environment,
and consult with appropriate state, local, and tribal officials."
The concept of a border fence took on new life after the Sept.
11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which revived the heated immigration
debate. Intelligence officials have said the holes along the
southwest border could provide places for terrorists to enter the
country.
Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform when it
had the chance in 2007.
Thompson said, "Without a comprehensive plan, this fence is
just another quick fix."
Earlier this year, Chertoff waived more than 30 laws and
regulations in an effort to finish building 670 miles of fence
along the southwest border. Administration officials have said that
invoking the legal waivers - which Congress authorized in 1996 and
2005 laws - will cut through bureaucratic red tape and sidestep
environmental laws that currently stand in the way of fence
construction.
Environmentalists have said the fence puts already endangered
species such as two types of wild cats - the ocelot and the
jaguarundi - in even more danger. The fence would prevent them from
swimming across the Rio Grande to mate.