Re: Jaguar population threatened by immigration fence

The effects of the immigration fence on the wildlife in the Southwest and Northern Mexico is often overlooked in the immigration debate.  I would just like to add to what Chris wrote about with the example of the Jaguars.  Because the wall is being constructed under the department of Homeland Security they have the power to waive all environmental regulations that exist in order to protect the landscape.  They justify these actions by suggesting the Wall is a security measure that protects us from terrorists.  To date, the Border Patrol along the entire US/Mexico border has not caught any terrorists.  They have detained something like 27 suspected terrorists, which simply means that these detainees have been to a country in the Middle East (these statistics come from Borderlinks).  Homeland security says they are actually working to protect the environment because in the 2007 fiscal year they detained 19,000 migrants who would have left trash in the conservation areas in the border region (NY Times). 
The physical construction of a wall in the Sonoran Desert is so much more destructive to the environment.  When they build the wall they clear the area around at least 30-50 feet on either side.  This leaves a horrible scar on the landscape, and a terrible barrier all wildlife cannot cross. Similarly, it is not like the border region is all barren desert to begin with.  There are several small ranching communities that are virtually being invaded by border patrol, the National Guard, and spy towers.  The border also crosses the center of the Tohono o’Odham Nation.  In order to construct this wall, the United States government is excavating many burial grounds.  An archeologist friend of mine worked on one of these sites.  He was telling me how from the worksite he could see where they were building the wall.  He said he saw deer and rabbits cross the empty cleared land and just stare at the wall trying to decide what to do with it.  He said he felt morally conflicted excavating a burial ground and watching the wildlife.  On the other man he made friends with many people in the area, one of which had cut a whole in the wall and welded a door onto it.  He put a lock on it and charged people to let them in.  Chris is right, a wall will never stop people but it will always stop wildlife. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/us/23fence.html?pagewanted=all