Michael Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, waived several environmental laws yesterday to continue building a border fence through a national conservation area in Arizona, bypassing a federal court ruling that had suspended the fence construction.The opposition, led by the Sierra Club, protests that a fence would damage the environment of the conservation area, but "department officials [respond by saying] that some 19,000 illegal immigrants were detained passing through the conservation area in the 2007 fiscal year and that the immigrants’ trash, human waste and illegal roads had caused more damage to plant and animal life than the fence would."
Citing “unacceptable risks to our nation’s security” if the fence along the border with Mexico was further delayed, Mr. Chertoff invoked waiver authority granted him under a 2005 bill that mandated construction of the fence.
I have to admit being pretty surprised that Chertoff did this, since he's been pretty soft on illegal immigration since Bush appointed him. Still, I'll take it! Wouldn't it be great if the fence would actually get built? This is one more step in the right direction.
There's my two cents.
No comments:
Post a Comment