The teach-in kicked off with a comprehensive overview of the Border Patrol’s proposed plan presented by the Latin America Working Group’s Senior Associate for Mexico, Sean Garcia . He was joined by Lauren Altes of the San Diego based Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association, who discussed the successes and challenges of fighting border fencing construction in southern California. There were also comprehensive discussions of the potential environmental damage to pristine lands and the threat to endangered species that fence construction would create led by the Defenders of Wildlife. The teach-in concluded with presentations from five Native American tribal representatives from the US and Mexico on how fencing would bisect their lands and hamper the movement of tribal members living in Mexico. If you’d like to see more information on “the wall,” including information presented at the teach- in, visit http://www.derechoshumanosaz.net/Wall_info/wall_index.htm.

Apparently, the Border Patrol perked up its ears in response to the teach-in and the press surrounding the event and growing public opposition. Just two weeks after the event, the Army Corps of Engineers (the agency responsible for designing the wall proposal) sent out a letter to concerned parties, announcing that “after receiving numerous comments concerning the extent of the proposed actions, DHS [Department of Homeland Security, where the Border Patrol is now housed]…has decided to revise the [proposal]. The Corps of Engineers went so far as to say that “many of these ideas were not based upon reality,” and that “the types and quantities presented…addressed a ‘worse case scenario’ and can only be though of as having little utility except in the case of a mass invasion.”

While this retreat is welcome by activists opposed to the construction of the wall, a revised proposal will be released in October 2003 that should contained “scaled back” proposals. Until then, the Border Patrol seems to be playing back door politics. Though much of the media attention to this issue has focused on the comprehensive plan to build 250 miles of fencing, the Border Patrol continues to release smaller proposals to extend border fencing along sections of the Arizona border piece by piece. Most prominent among these documents is a proposal released in May 2003 to build an additional 22 miles of double fencing between the towns of Douglas and Naco, Arizona. Though this area was specifically discussed in the Arizona-wide fencing proposal, there is no recognition in the smaller proposal that this construction will contribute to a larger plan for sealing off Arizona from Mexico. Activists fear that the Border Patrol will continue to issue smaller construction proposals that contribute to the goal off completing the Arizona fence, while deflecting attention with the larger discussion of revisions to the master plan.

In the meantime, migrants continue to die in the Arizona desert as a result of Border Patrol projects that seal off the border. As of July 8, 2003, 69 migrants have died in the Arizona desert this fiscal year (which begins in October). This ties the record for the highest number of deaths in Arizona to this date, setting the stage for one of the deadliest summers along the Southwest.

Take Action!

Call your members of Congress and let them know that you refuse to sanction US Border Patrol policies that force migrants into inhospitable stretches of desert, where so many people have died. Tell them you support a comprehensive immigration reform plan as the only solution to ending the deaths in the desert.