Money still stands in fence’s way

Only a few months ago, newly empowered Democrats in Congress were saying a fence along the U.S. border with Mexico had little chance of getting fully funded.

“No money, no fence,” Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, told The Monitor in January. “That’s the bottom line.”

In the last few weeks, however, the U.S. Border Patrol has told Rio Grande Valley leaders that the fence would be up by the end of 2008 — just a year and a half away — and a U.S. Department of Homeland Security map showing tentative locations for the fence was leaked to the media.

So what’s changed between now and then?

Maybe nothing.

While Border Patrol has talked about the fence as an imminent reality, the agency has received only a fraction of the funding needed for the 370 miles of barriers it envisions.

David Shirk, director of the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego, suspects authorities may be “measuring the drapes” — in essence, planning for something that may happen — while awaiting the go-ahead from Congress.

“My guess is the issue’s still in play,” Shirk said.

STILL LOTS OF QUESTIONS

In an interview Wednesday, Cuellar said there are still a lot of questions about the fence, and that Border Patrol officials are carrying out a security plan that could change.

“Border Patrol is going to implement what the law is,” said Cuellar, referring to the 2006 law President Bush signed authorizing the fence. “But we’re doing everything possible to make sure they’re looking at all options.”

Border Patrol officials have been vague about their plans.

Right now, they are seeking input from elected officials and landowners about the best way to move forward, said Oscar Saldaña, Border Patrol’s local spokesman.

In the Valley, plans call for 70 miles of fencing, mostly near the international ports of entry in urban areas.

Before fencing can go forward, the Department of Homeland Security — which oversees the Border Patrol — needs to secure more funding from Democrats skeptical of the benefits of a fence along the southern border.

For this year, Congress allocated $1.2 billion for infrastructure projects, which includes fencing but also other aspects of the security plan, including vehicle barriers, lighting, road construction and surveillance technology.

House and Senate committees are currently evaluating a DHS request for $1.2 billion for infrastructure for the next fiscal year.

Homeland Security officials haven’t disclosed the projected cost of a 370-mile fence, but a December report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service — quoting an Army Corps of Engineers estimate — said a mile of fence could cost between $16.4 million and $70 million over a 25-year-period.

That means a 370-mile fence could cost between $6 billion and $25.9 billion during that time.

And with a Democratic Congress and a possibly Democratic president in 2008, funds for the fence may be scarce.

“The Department of Homeland Security is mandated by law to construct a fence, so it’s likely that they will spend the money they already have and start building,” said Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, in a statement. “The funding, however, is well short of what DHS needs to build a complete fence and I will continue to work to make sure that they do not receive any more money from Congress for the project.”

SCALING BACK ALREADY

Indeed, the Bush administration appears to have already scaled back its fence plans in response to the Democrats’ victory in mid-term elections in November.

The Secure Fence Act the president signed last year called for up to 700 miles of fences.

Yet DHS is now requesting about half that because of “funding availability” and the “intent of Congress,” said Michael Friel, a department spokesman.

Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, which favors reduced immigration, suggested at least part of the fence needs to be built so Democrats and Republicans can look tough on illegal crossings.

“Part of it will be real,” Camarota said, “but it is far less than certain if the whole thing will be built.”

VALLEY LEADERS PESSIMISTIC

Uncertainty about future funding hasn’t stopped local leaders from worrying about what they perceive as the fence’s impact on commerce, cultural exchange and the environment.

On Tuesday, some Valley leaders came out of a meeting with local Border Patrol officials convinced part of the fence would be erected between Roma and Brownsville by the end of 2008.

McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez said that the Valley had already “lost” in its fight against the fence.

“This thing is so unusual,” Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said in an interview Thursday. “Normally, the federal government, the bureaucracy, is so slow in getting things accomplished. But given the urgency for homeland security, theoretically, it could be built.”

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Michael Barnett covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4447.