Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

LAREDO, March 20—State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh has asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to halt his border fence policy and wait for the next president and Congress to come up with a new “comprehensive solution.”

The El Paso Democrat offered his analysis of the current border security situation in a letter sent to Chertoff on Wednesday, which also happened to be the deadline for public comment for the border fence Environmental Assessment in the El Paso Sector.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection proposed to build 56.7 miles of fence in the sector, which would be the longest continuous fence in Texas. In his letter, Shapleigh outlines several rationales for not building the wall, including historical, social and economic.   

“Your proposed border wall policy will hurt American interests all across the Americas for a whole generation,” said Shapleigh. “Thus, do not harm and let a new President and a new Congress provide a better, comprehensive solution.”

Shapleigh points out that anti-immigrant sentiment has almost always followed a threat to national security, and cites several examples including World War II, when Japanese nationals were ordered into internment camps, the Iranian hostage crisis of 1980-1981, and 1991's Gulf War.

“Today, the events of 9/11 have caused the United States to re-think immigration once again. And despite the fact that none of the 9/11 terrorists have arrived in the United States through Mexico, the focus over the past several years has been on our southwestern border,” said Shapleigh.

The senator also cites a Washington Post article published October 2006 that scrutinized the Secure Fence Act of 2006, pin-pointing a list of potential flaws of building a border fence. The possible negative environmental impact of building a concrete fence and the cost of the fence are two of these named flaws. Shapleigh includes cost estimates based on the existing fence along the San Diego-Mexico border, which were tabulated by the House Appropriations Committee.

According to the estimate, the fence will cost $9 million per mile, and the total cost of the fence would be $6.3 billion. Shapleigh points out that the fence in San Diego was estimated to cost $14 million, but because of logistical and legal problems, the first nine miles have cost $39 million.

“A study released by the Congressional Research Service estimates the cost of building and maintaining the fence would be about $49 billion,” said Shapleigh. “This number does not include the costs of purchasing private lands and any costs associated with using private contractors (versus the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).”

Shapleigh also addressed potential economic negative effects of the border fence, citing that the wall impedes the main objectives of international treaties such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the General Agreements on Trade and Tariffs. He points out that Mexico has become the United States' number one partner, and that Texas has solid ties with Mexico in commerce.

“In sum, while achieving adequate security is a central issue along the border, security policies should not include highly fortified barriers that impede economic growth along the U.S.-Mexico border or the legitimate flow of commerce and people in and out of Mexico,” said Shapleigh.

The letter also includes reference to another letter Shapleigh sent to President George W. Bush on October 30, 2001, days after 9/11, in which he offered solutions for border security. One-stop inspection centers, 24/7 use of existing border infrastructure and technology comprise the list of solutions.

“By now, moving people and products faster, safer and smarter in a post 9/11 world should be a top U.S. priority. Instead, we have cabinet-level leaders who say 'grow up' when we, who live, work and raise families on the border strive daily to make real solutions a reality,” said Shapleigh.

The border senator closes with a request to stop building the border wall until the new administration and the new Congress steps in.

“Let us stop ill-conceived walls founded in current notions of racism until new leadership moves us to be the beacon of hope around the world once again,” said Shapleigh.

(Click on the clipboard below to read Sen. Shapleigh's letter to Sec. Chertoff.)