ELLIOT SPAGATFederal judge clears way for construction of border fenceTue Dec 13, 2005 01:48
Posted on Mon, Dec. 12, 2005
Federal judge clears way for construction of border fence
ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO - A federal judge on Monday lifted the final legal barrier to building a triple fence in the southwestern corner of the United States.
The Sierra Club and other environmental groups argued that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff lacked authority to waive environmental and other laws that have delayed completion of 14 miles of additional fencing in San Diego.
In September, Chertoff waived all laws and legal challenges to building the final 3 1/2-mile leg through coastal wetlands to the Pacific Ocean.
U.S. District Judge Larry Burns said Congress clearly delegated the authority to Chertoff in June. He noted that the executive branch already had significant jurisdiction over national security and immigration policy.
Cory Briggs, an attorney representing the environmental groups, said he was undecided whether to appeal.
"I'm not surprised," Briggs said. "If I were a judge, I would have great problems declaring a law unconstitutional."
Litigation has stalled the project since it was approved by Congress in 1996. Last year, the California Coastal Commission refused to grant permits, saying damage to sensitive habitats outweighed security benefits.
The Sierra Club lawsuit, filed in February 2004, said the project threatened the Tijuana River estuary, home to more than 370 migratory and native birds, six of them endangered.
The final leg of the fence would cross steep, rugged canyons including "Smuggler's Gulch," a maze of trails long overrun by illegal border crossers. The federal government launched a crackdown in 1994, erecting a steel wall made of surplus Navy landing mats, adding patrols and installing lights and motion sensors.
Known as Operation Gatekeeper, the effort forced smugglers and migrants inland to sparsely populated highlands and deserts.
The 2006 Homeland Security budget includes $35 million to cover most of the work.
The project would require crews to move 2.1 million cubic yards of dirt in Smuggler's Gulch alone, or enough to fill about 300,000 dump trucks.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, introduced legislation last month that calls for a 2,000-mile fence from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.
===================================
Judge clears way for border fence
Seattle Post Intelligencer - 2 hours ago
... The final leg of the fence would cross steep, rugged canyons including "Smuggler's Gulch," a maze of trails once overrun by illegal border crossers. ...
MORE BORDER NEWS:
- Tsunami, flooding and meteorite —kathaksung, Tue Dec 13 14:10
Message Board by American Patriot Friends Network [APFN]
