February 10, 2005

San Diego activist groups are warning that putting up another fence at the Mexican border, in keeping with legislation passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, could cause environmental problems.

"To begin with, the bill says the area is uninhabited, and that's not true. A few steps south of the border, people live in Mexico, and in addition the area is the natural habitat of endangered species," said Christian Ramirez, head of San Diego's American Friends Service Committee.

Ramirez is coordinating protests along with other organizations, such as the Environmental Health Coalition, which plans to travel to Washington next week to voice its opinion on Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner's bill.

Dubbed the "Real ID Act," Sensenbrenner's bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday. Among other restrictions on illegal immigrants, it calls for completing a three-mile stretch of fence between California and Mexico near San Diego.

"The fence is absolutely necessary. It is essential for the nation's security and essential for the struggle against terrorism," said state Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-San Diego), who has been trying to install double and triple fences at the border since 1995.

But Ramirez, who insists Hunter's plan for the border "is not only unreal but crazy in terms of the environment and the dignity of people who live on both sides of the border as a single region."

"The Border Patrol itself reports that the crossing of undocumented immigrants in the area where he plans to put the fence has dropped at least 74 percent, and because it is fragile land that floods easily and gets swampy, it is not a favorite corridor among the undocumented," Ramirez added.

Another legislator, Democrat Bob Filner, also from the San Diego area, agrees with the civic groups.

"It's a ridiculous idea. The fence could marginally improve security at the border, but at a very high cost in terms of pollution, destruction of endangered species, erosion and possibly even international problems, because the rainwater and mud will wash into a Mexican neighborhood," Filner said.

"The worst part," said Enrique Morones, of the group Border Angels, "is that in the city of Tijuana no one knows about this. We just spoke to Tijuana authorities and they were surprised, because they didn't know of plans to put up this wall that is going to create problems on the Mexican side."

According to Ramirez, the bill breaks more than 15 federal environmental protection laws and contravenes a decision of the California Coastal Commission.

In addition, the "Real ID Act" places federal restrictions on the issuance of drivers' licenses and increases the authority of immigration officials to deny political asylum.