Why the border fence fails

Why the border fence fails
By: Gebe Martinez
April 3, 2009 04:42 AM EST

DEL RIO, Texas-Black steel bars rise from the dry, hard-packed dirt, 16 feet up toward a sky that has no borders.

Though shiny and new, the barrier on the Texas side of the Rio Grande is an ugly symbol of the border wars on the ground.

Congress — responding to voters who are angered by the rising immigrant population in their neighborhoods — ordered the border fence. Now, as the depressed international economies and increased drug cartel violence weaken this nation and Mexico, the barrier is taking on added significance as a shield against Americans’ greatest fears.

That is not how I view it.

As I approached the international bridge that connects Del Rio to Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, I saw a structure that has pierced the friendliness and innocence of the town where I was born.

What the tall barrier has done is create a false sense of security for immigration hard-liners while adding to the fears of law-abiding residents along the border.

In Del Rio, where a historic partnership with Acuna includes daily commerce, construction of an international dam and meetings between presidents of both countries, there are stories of legal residents who are reluctant to cross into Mexico to see their families or to shop, out of fear they will lose their legal right to return.

The poor on both sides are the ones who will be mostly hurt by the 670-mile fence along the Texas-Mexico border, according to University of Texas researchers. The structure will not even touch the most expensive and revenue-rich parcels of land, according to the human rights study.

The cold, harsh look of the new fence underscores the mission undertaken by Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) to put a “human face” on the immigration crisis and, thus, pressure President Barack Obama to act this year to reform immigration laws.

In a series of “family unity” events being held at churches in 20 cities across the country — from Rhode Island to California and Texas — Gutierrez and local religious and community leaders are gathering testimony from citizens and visa-holders whose families have been upended by what they see as overly aggressive immigration enforcement.

Though Obama campaigned for president with an immigration plan that would include border enforcement, tougher employer rules and earned legalization for illegal immigrants, Gutierrez worries the president’s promise may falter because of the deepening economic recession.


“It seemed to members of the [Congressional Hispanic Caucus] that there was a vacuum; how do you continue to build and galvanize the support for comprehensive immigration reform while the White House is silent?” Gutierrez said. “How do you create support and let the president know there’s a community out there that’s still very committed and vigorous?”

After reflecting on Obama’s 2008 Democratic convention speech, Gutierrez came up with an answer: to focus on family separations.

In his single reference to immigration as he accepted the presidential nomination, Obama said, “I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers.”

At an event in San Francisco, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to the federal immigration raids that break up families, calling them “un-American,” and demanded they be stopped.

Immigration restrictionists mocked Pelosi’s comments. Immigration control groups also sponsored an expensive, weeks-long television ad against Gutierrez, contending his efforts are costing Americans jobs.

But Gutierrez’s work seems to be paying off.

Pelosi’s comments reaffirmed her support for broad immigration legislation, once the White House takes the lead.

And in March, Obama strategized with all 24 members of the Hispanic Caucus after receiving from Gutierrez 5,500 signatures gathered at the rallies.

The president pledged to hold a White House event on immigration by the end of May.

Obama also will travel to Mexico this month to meet with Mexico President Felipe Calderon to discuss the drug war, immigration and trade.

Meanwhile, Gutierrez and the Hispanic Caucus have the backing of the Congressional Black Caucus, which agrees this is a civil rights issue. Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), head of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, will join Gutierrez at a rally in California. Republican Cuban-American lawmakers from Florida also encouraged constituents to attend the Orlando meeting.

No doubt, Obama will continue to hear opposition from immigration hard-liners who demanded the American version of the Berlin Wall.

But not until laws are changed to effectively control illegal immigration — and end the exploitation of workers and the separation of families — can the face of the nation seem more just and not so ugly.

Gebe Martinez is a longtime journalist in Washington and a frequent lecturer and commentator on the policy and politics of Capitol Hill.