Editorial: Don’t fence them in

Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006 | 7:05 a.m.

A number of landowners and law enforcement officials along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas oppose construction of a 700-mile fence that is at the center of President Bush's immigration bill.

In a story Tuesday by USA Today, the increasingly vocal group says that the proposed double-walled structure would block access to the Rio Grande that is necessary for cattle and for migrating wildlife sought by hunters who lease portions of private ranches.

Dob Cunningham, a rancher whose Texas spread includes two miles of Rio Grande frontage, told USA Today that the fence also threatens the cultural exchange and open ranges that are a hallmark of the region. Cunningham and others believe the federal government should spend its money hiring more U.S. Border Patrol officers and increasing enforcement along the troublesome areas.

The immigration bill that Bush signed last month revolves around building a fence for which there is no funding. There is no money for more Border Patrol officers, either. It will be up to lawmakers to decide whether to fund the project after Congress reconvenes next year.

But the fact that the fence is opposed by such people as Cunningham and rancher Bill Moody - both of whom have granted Border Patrol agents access to their land to help stem the flow of illegal immigrants - shows that this fence is not the easy solution for which Bush and some Republican lawmakers are searching.

Those entering the United States illegally have cut Moody's fences and stolen his cattle. And, yet, he understands that a fence won't fix this problem.

We have always said that the United States must secure its borders, but the method for doing that is more complicated than just building a fence. Those who live along the nation's fragile borders know that far better than those who sit in Washington dreaming up schemes for quick fixes that don't exist.