Border Town Wary of Plans for a Second Wall

Perhaps no community is more grateful for the U.S. border crackdown of recent years than this working-class town, whose backyards and alleys once served as a busy throughway for illegal immigrants.

To widespread relief here, illegal crossings have dropped dramatically because of beefed-up patrols, a formidable border fence and such measures as underground sensors that can detect movement.

But the city’s leaders now are expressing uncharacteristic reservations about a government plan to tighten that seal further by adding a second layer of fence at the western end of the U.S.-Mexico border.

While environmentalists object to the proposed backup fence on grounds that excavation would harm sensitive habitat, the worries of Imperial Beach officials are mainly financial.

City officials fear that a second fence will cleave Border Field State Park--803 acres at the southwest corner of the continental United States--and kill chances to promote ecotourism or other activities that could generate revenue for the cash-strapped city.

“We certainly don’t want to see a portion of land that’s within the city limits removed from that,” said Mayor Diane Rose. “There’s so many potentials there, with equestrian activities, birding--a number of things.”

City leaders say they remain solidly behind the 6-year-old border crackdown, known as Operation Gatekeeper. Arrests of those who illegally scale the fence along the stretch of border near Imperial Beach plunged from 187,000 in 1994 to 19,000 in the 12 months that ended Sept. 30.

But city officials want time to evaluate possible uses for the coastal strip before any fence is built. The City Council has designated the spot a special study area, “with all secondary fence plans held in abeyance,” until an assessment can be performed. City officials concede, however, they have no legal power to stop the project.

Among possible uses mentioned are nature tourism, research facilities and a hotel. The park, set amid a 2,500-acre federally protected estuary, is home to three kinds of endangered birds and four rare plant species.

Border Field State Park is a stone’s throw from a bullring and a lighthouse in Mexico and contains a marble obelisk that was erected in 1851 to mark a new boundary after Mexico’s loss in the war against the United States. At the obelisk, the 10-foot border fence changes from solid metal to steel mesh that allows visitors to see through to the other side.

The fence is required under a 1996 immigration law, but it’s exact location has not yet been decided. The U.S. Border Patrol favors sending it through the heart of the park--a grassy mesa, with picnic tables, that offers a spectacular view of the broad beach and crashing surf. The fence would be parallel to the existing barrier, with a 150-foot-wide patrol road between them.

“It’s still up in the air. We’re revising and looking at this in coordination with the Border Patrol, the [Immigration and Naturalization Service] and the state park,” said Stephen Brooks, project manager at the Army Corps of Engineers in Fort Worth.

Controversy could delay construction for many months. A draft report on environmental effects will probably not be completed until 2002. Proponents contend that a fence could shield delicate plants from being trampled by border crossers.

The proposed fence is prompting worry at the state Department of Parks and Recreation. Officials propose improving the existing fence instead of building a second one.

“A secondary fence is not conducive to a win-win solution. Someone’s going to lose,” said Ed Navarro, the state parks department district superintendent in San Diego.

A public meeting on the fence plan is to be held in Imperial Beach on Jan. 25.

The second fence has gone up along about nine of the 14 westernmost miles of border in San Diego. The 16-foot-high barrier is designed to make illegal crossings and drug smuggling more difficult and to create a secure enforcement zone for agents.

“This will allow us to focus more on the enforcement strategy right at the border instead of farther north,” said Gloria Chavez, a Border Patrol spokeswoman. “It’s all about deterrence.”

To Imperial Beach officials, who face a projected $150,000 city budget deficit, it’s also about potential revenues. A city planning survey identified the state park as an underused asset. Most days, it is nearly deserted, in part because of chronic flooding of an access road that is slated for improvement. Local residents recall a far different scene 30 years ago, when less stringent controls made it possible to walk across the border for weekend gatherings.

Demands for tighter enforcement came later, as a flood of illegal crossings and crime turned the zone into an emblem for border troubles. That memory is fresh in the minds of local officials, despite reservations about a new fence.

“We would never want to see pre-Operation Gatekeeper conditions in Imperial Beach and wouldn’t want to do anything to move in that direction,” said Rose. “But we want to work with the Border Patrol to protect our potential.”