Editorial: Giving low-tech solution a try

Friday, Jan. 13, 2006 | 8:03 a.m.

The United States has been increasing its military and law-enforcement aid to Mexico since 9/11. The rationale is that if authorities there are better trained and better equipped, they will be more able to intercept terrorists and smugglers heading for the border.

The rationale is correct and the 2,000-mile border today is safer, but far from secure. The increased U.S. aid, which includes communications gear, scanners, specially outfitted helicopters, motorcycles and pickup trucks, is being put to use throughout Mexico, which dilutes its effectiveness along the border. Thousands of miles remain unprotected, even with the U.S. Border Patrol on guard.

A new federal strategy is now being tried in Arizona and New Mexico and we believe it will be effective, at least against those who use cars, trucks and vans to smuggle drugs and people across the border. Along portions of the border most favored by smugglers, large-diameter, variable-length steel poles filled with hard resin are being driven into the ground at 4-foot intervals. They will force smugglers to detour into areas where officials say they will be easier to catch.

A Border Patrol spokesman, Michael Gramley, told the Associated Press that tests have proven the poles to be durable against vandalism and vehicles. He estimated that last year, 2,700 vehicles crossed the border illegally where the poles are being placed.

Helicopters and other high-tech weapons in the fight against terror and drug smuggling are necessary. But sometimes low-tech solutions are best. If the poles prove themselves, we believe they should be placed at other areas along the border that are similarly vulnerable to illegal vehicle crossings.