{"id":628490,"date":"2018-09-22T16:10:22","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T22:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=628490"},"modified":"2018-09-23T08:14:53","modified_gmt":"2018-09-23T14:14:53","slug":"federal-officials-unveil-plans-for-four-mile-border-wall-in-el-paso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/09\/federal-officials-unveil-plans-for-four-mile-border-wall-in-el-paso\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal officials unveil plans for four-mile border &#8216;wall&#8217; in El Paso"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_628495\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-628495\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aaron_Hull_border_wall_presser_3_JR_TT-771x517.jpg\" alt=\"Aaron Hull\" width=\"771\" height=\"517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aaron_Hull_border_wall_presser_3_JR_TT-771x517.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aaron_Hull_border_wall_presser_3_JR_TT-336x225.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aaron_Hull_border_wall_presser_3_JR_TT-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aaron_Hull_border_wall_presser_3_JR_TT.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jesus Rosales \/ for The Texas Tribune<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Hull from the El Paso Sector speaks at a press conference about the new border barrier near downtown El Paso on Friday.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>EL PASO, Texas \u2014 For years, Raul Martinez has enjoyed the view of his native Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez from his modest apartment complex on the south side of this border city.<\/p>\n<p>In a few months he could be forced to peer through an 18-foot-tall fence to get the same vantage point.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the reality for residents of the Chihuahita neighborhood, one of the oldest in the country, since U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced they&#8217;d be constructing a four-mile barrier just north of the Rio Grande River \u2014 mandated by President Donald Trump\u2019s 2017 executive order on border security.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article originally appeared in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2018\/09\/21\/border-wall-texas-mexico-trump-el-paso\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Texas Tribune<\/a>,\u00a0a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re not going to be able to see the panorama of Ju\u00e1rez anymore,\u201d Martinez, 76, said after a Friday press conference where federal officials detailed their plans for the $22 million project. \u201cIt&#8217;s sad.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The barrier will replace the chain-link fencing that El Paso Border Patrol Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Hull said has become obsolete. The new fence, or \u201cwall\u201d as federal officials are calling it, will be made of steel bollards and include a five-foot-tall &#8220;anti-climbing plate&#8221; at the top.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a dramatic shift from the current fencing. And it&#8217;s a reminder to the public that \u2014 despite the political gridlock that has so far stymied the president\u2019s vision of a continuous, \u201cbig, beautiful\u201d wall on the border \u2014 the White House is doing what it can to make good on one of Trump\u2019s signature campaign promises.<\/p>\n<p>The El Paso news follows an April announcement of a 20-mile-long barrier in nearby Santa Teresa, N.M., which is also in the El Paso Border Patrol sector.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe said we were going to build it, and we built it, now we\u2019re moving on,\u201d Hull said of the New Mexico project, which he expects to be completed early next year.<\/p>\n<p>Friday\u2019s announcement rattled some El Pasoans because the Chihuahuita neighborhood is the site of annual cross-border Catholic masses, as well as several yearly events that bring families from Mexico and the United States together for a short time.<\/p>\n<p>Hull said the Border Patrol would continue to work with community leaders on those issues but suggested nothing is guaranteed.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you ask us for certain things, like access to stage certain events, we have to look at the impact it\u2019s going to have on border security,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Hull added that despite the Trump administration\u2019s best efforts to curb illegal crossings, the El Paso sector has seen a dramatic spike in attempted entries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere in the El Paso sector, if you compare (fiscal year) 2017 to (fiscal year) 2018 year-to-date, you\u2019ll see a 61 percent increase in entries,\u201d he said. He added that \u201cloopholes\u201d in immigration law continue to encourage people from other countries to enter the United States illegally to seek asylum.<\/p>\n<p>Most asylum-seekers, however, turn themselves in to Border Patrol agents or attempt to cross into the U.S. legally at official ports of entry. When asked how a wall would deter that practice, Hull reiterated the positive results of existing physical barriers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe wall makes it harder to enter illegally and it reduces illegal entry; it\u2019s been proven time and time again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Critics of the Trump administration\u2019s call for a wall have said smugglers would simply climb over them or tunnel under them. But the El Paso barrier, which is expected to be complete in April 2019, will be dug six feet into the ground and include two feet of concrete underneath.<\/p>\n<p>As Hull made his way through his remarks on Friday, about 50 protesters lined up just feet away from Border Patrol officers who guarded the entrance to the news conference.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_628496\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-628496\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/El_Paso_border_wall_protesters_JR_TT-771x517.jpg\" alt=\"Protesters\" width=\"771\" height=\"517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/El_Paso_border_wall_protesters_JR_TT-771x517.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/El_Paso_border_wall_protesters_JR_TT-336x225.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/El_Paso_border_wall_protesters_JR_TT-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/El_Paso_border_wall_protesters_JR_TT.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jesus Rosales \/ for The Texas Tribune<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters demonstrate during a press conference announcing new border fencing near downtown El Paso on Friday.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Marisa Lim\u00f3n, the deputy director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hopeborder.org\/mission\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hope Border Institute<\/a>, a grassroots Catholic organization that advocates for immigrants&#8217; rights, said cross-border activities and engagement &#8220;won\u2019t stop because of a wall or a bridge or reinforcement of a metal fence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though federal officials call the steel bollard fencing a wall, it doesn\u2019t exactly resemble any of the eight prototypes that they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2017\/10\/26\/border-wall-moves-along-after-cbp-finishes-prototype-construction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unveiled<\/a> in San Diego in October. When asked why the sector chose to go with the bollard fencing when President Trump has insisted on a wall, a spokesman said he wasn&#8217;t going to comment on such national issues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the years of experience, years of work that will tell us what type of infrastructure we need in certain areas,&#8221; said Border Patrol Agent Ramiro Cordero. &#8220;We are the experts in border security.\u201d<script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.texastribune.org\/pixel\/dot.min.29c708b3d0da5d17a725.js\" integrity=\"sha384-8Xwf\/TlQnmHiajg1t3dn8w4qlF1rmV33o5NAQVXYu0T2q3rHV5579zrSmRjh+XnM\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\" data-tt-canonical=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2018\/09\/21\/border-wall-texas-mexico-trump-el-paso\/\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s actually a steel bollard fence, and it&#8217;s a reminder that the White House is doing what it can to make good on one of President Trump\u2019s signature campaign promises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":628495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[140],"class_list":["post-628490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-border-and-immigration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}