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Border Patrol Destroys Foliage With Chemicals

Killing plants will cut hiding places for immigrants, smugglers

By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 25, 2009 10:10 AM CDT
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(Newser) – In an effort to keep smugglers and illegal immigrants from hiding in heavy vegetation as they attempt to cross the Mexican border, the US Border Patrol is looking to Agent Orange for inspiration. One plan for cutting down on possible hiding places on riverbanks is to use an herbicide that will kill all the vegetation, reports the Houston Chronicle.

Some people are outraged over the $2.1 million pilot program, which will be used over a 1.1-mile section of the Rio Grande. “It is unprecedented that they’d do it in a populated area,” says a local environmental activist. But an agent says that as long as the thick foliage remains, “They can come over almost undetected.”

Carrizo cane provides a dense ground cover thick enough to allow people to maneuver along small paths within it without being visible from above.
Carrizo cane provides a dense ground cover thick enough to allow people to maneuver along small paths within it without being visible from above.   (©slminneman)
Mexican soldiers patrol along the bank of the Bravo river near Los Guerra, on Mexico's northeastern border with the U.S., Wednesday, March 18, 2009.
Mexican soldiers patrol along the bank of the Bravo river near Los Guerra, on Mexico's northeastern border with the U.S., Wednesday, March 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)
A footprint can be seen in the soft mud of the Rio Grande underneath a bridge popular for illegal crossings 6f the US-Mexico border near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
A footprint can be seen in the soft mud of the Rio Grande underneath a bridge popular for illegal crossings 6f the US-Mexico border near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.   (Getty Images)
A U.S. Border Patrol agent scans the Rio Grande through a fence after seeing four people attempt to cross the US-Mexico border illegally June 26, 2007 in El Paso, Texas.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent scans the Rio Grande through a fence after seeing four people attempt to cross the US-Mexico border illegally June 26, 2007 in El Paso, Texas.   (Getty Images)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
riffran
Mar 25, 2009 7:00 AM CDT
are they sure about the "agent orange part"...thought that stuff was banned

Two other methods to be tested as well
USA Today

Opposition on both sides of the border
KGNS 8 (Texas)

 
illegal immigrant • border control • Mexican border • Border Patrol • smuggler • herbicide • border crossing • Agent Orange • Laredo, Texas • Rio Grande

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