The chairman of the Texas Border Coalition says that in trying to force through construction of a border wall, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is attempting the largest environmental waiver in U.S. history.

Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster made his comments after learning that the Department of Homeland Security wants to sidestep more than 30 federal laws and regulations in its effort to complete 670 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border wall by year's end.
 
"The Texas Border Coalition is outraged that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would overreach and waive any and all laws in the course of building 670 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border – without limit and without checks and balances," Foster said.
 
"This is the largest waiver of U.S. environmental laws since the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and we all know how well that worked out. Just ask the people of Valdez, Alaska."

Previously, DHS has used its waiver authority for two portions of fence in Arizona and one portion in San Diego.

"Criminal activity at the border does not stop for endless debate or protracted litigation," Chertoff said in a statement. "These waivers will enable important security projects to keep moving forward."

As of March 17, there were 309 miles of fencing in place, leaving 361 to be completed by the end of the year to meet the department's goal. Of those, 267 miles are being held up by federal, state and local laws and regulations, the officials said.

Foster pointed out that DHS and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have invested millions in taxpayer dollars to manage "behemoth' environmental studies of the U.S.-Mexico border region, from San Diego to Brownsville.

"Obviously, there are serious problems with those studies, otherwise the federal government wouldn't have to resort to such drastic measures," Foster said.
 
"Instead of shredding our nation's environmental and cultural heritage, the federal government should be working toward genuine solutions. That is what Texas border officials have been saying from day one."

Foster said one of the "genuine solutions" was the fence-levee combination recently approved for Hidalgo County.

"This solution was developed at the local level as a result of consultations that the waiver will not afford to other border communities. We want to ensure that the rest of the border region enjoys the same local input provided Hidalgo County," Foster said.

Some border leaders say that when they first heard about Chertoff waiving all environmental laws in order to build a border fence they thought it an April Fools Day joke.

"When I first learned about it I fired off an e-mail to our consultants asking if this was for real or if it was an April Fools Day joke," said Monica Weisberg-Stewart, co-chair of the Texas Border Coalition's immigration committee.

Weisberg-Stewart participated in a conference call Tuesday morning organized for border fence stakeholders by the Department of Homeland Security to talk about Chertoff's actions. Other border leaders on the conference call were Foster, Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada, McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez, Roma Mayor Rogelio Ybarra, and Alliance for Security and Trade spokesman Eddie Aldrete.

"We all had to listen to this presentation and when it was over we were told that if we had any questions we had to hit the operator key. As soon as we did the call was dropped. I checked with the rest of the border representatives and none of us were able to ask any questions," Weisberg-Stewart said.

The border leaders said it was difficult to catch the names of the federal government officials on the conference call. They all appeared to be reading from a prepared statement. There were some ironic moments during the conference call, Weisberg-Stewart said, such as a comment from a Customs and Border Protection official saying the federal government would be a "good steward" of border land.

Another comment that surprised the border leaders came from a Border Patrol official who said the border fence was not designed to deal with illegal immigration but national security. If that were the case, why isn't the government building a fence on the Canadian border, Weisberg-Stewart asked.

Brownsville Mayor Ahumada said he did not think it was good for democracy that one person had the power to suspend all environmental laws. He said a moratorium should be placed on the border fence plan until environmental impact studies are completed.

"The border wall is not about illegal immigration. It's not about the drug trafficking or terrorism. This is about sealing the southwest border to appease mid-America, which has no clue on how it affects us," Ahumada said.

"It's ludicrous for mid-America to insist on a fence that affects our way of life, affects our survival, and our relations with Mexico. We are not at war with Mexico, we have great relations, and we have built alliances with Mexico."

DHS claims it has held more than 100 meetings with lawmakers, environmental groups and residents in an effort to work out obstacles and objections to fence construction.

Like Weisberg-Stewart, Ahumada said he was unable to ask any questions during the conference call with DHS.

"I think this just goes to show that DHS is going through the procedures it needs to go through but it's not beneficial to the communities where it needs to go. They want a freaking fence, the government is going to give them a freaking fence," Ahumada said.

McAllen Chamber of Commerce President Steve Ahlenius said he was not surprised by Chertoff's actions.

"It does not surprise me in the least. It has been a race in DHS and Chertoff to get this wall built before he goes out of power come November," Ahlenius said. "It's unfortunate, I think the longer we can stall it and slow it down, the better chance we have when the new election comes that there will a change in policy and direction, but it doesn't surprise me at all."

Ahlenius spoke Tuesday about the challenges facing local governments at an Economic Forecast Summit organized by his Chamber. "I mentioned earlier, I think one of the biggest challenges to our own local government is not the subprime, it's not the $100 barrel (for oil), it's the federal government policies," he said.