It's their Wall and they'll Do what they Like

By Nick Braune
Mid-Valley Town Crier
by permission

Last week I interviewed an active environmentalist, Scott Nicol of Weslaco, about the disastrous wall that Homeland Security is planning for our border with Mexico. There was considerable interest in the column, so I’ll follow-up.

Nicol attended the important Texas Border Coalition (TBC) conference last week in McAllen. (TBC was founded in 1998 as a collective voice for border mayors, county judges and communities on pressing issues, and their June 1st event specifically invited landowners and environmentalists who oppose the border wall.) I asked Nicol his impressions of the conference.

Author: I am curious about the conference you attended. I suppose almost everyone there was pretty suspicious of the government’s wall plans. If I understand it correctly, there were promises made in January that there would be consultation, transparency, and respect for local stakeholders.

But then in the spring all the local stakeholders found that there were detailed plans for the wall that they had not been consulted on. The Mayor of Brownsville was quoted as dismayed: “They told us one thing and it appeared something else was being done.”

There was some uproar in the Valley. Senator Cornyn of Texas stepped in as a mediator in a sense, speaking in favor of openness. He assured everyone that Homeland Security (which includes the Border Patrol) has been making a better effort lately. They have been “enormously straight” with local landowners and stakeholders, Cornyn said.

I understand a big shot from the Border Patrol was at the TBC conference you attended. Did everyone think the Border Patrol speaker was “enormously straight,” or was he hiding his cards?

Nicol: The speaker was the Border Patrol’s highest ranking officer, David Aguilar, and he attempted to reassure the attendees several ways, implying that everything about the controversial wall is very preliminary.

Author: Was he trying to calm the group, saying there is lots of time to talk?

Nicol: Yes, he even said twice that the plan only exists “on the back of a napkin.”

Author: I’m sure that did not sound too believable to the annoyed conference attendees. They know things are in the works.

Nicol: Yes, he has had eight months to create schematics from any sketches on napkins. And he was at the Secure Border Fence Act signing ceremony itself. He is in the official photograph, looking over the President’s shoulder. He knows the provisions and the timetables. When asked by the mayors and business people to show the maps, Aguilar said the wall’s route has not been determined.

He said that showing the group a map of the wall’s route would mean that he had not consulted with us on it. This despite the fact that the Border Patrol met with landowners that same day in Weslaco, during which detailed maps showing the wall’s path were displayed.

Aquilar further tried to reassure the attendees by saying, “If in fact a fence is built, it will not be one continual fence.” But that statement is directly contradicted by the Secure Border Fence Act of 2006, which mandates a double layered fence running continuously from Laredo to Brownsville. Clearly, Chief Aguilar did not live up to Senator Cornyn’s recent characterization of the Border Patrol as being “enormously straight” in its dealings with border residents.

Author: Did you have the idea that Aguilar was filibustering the meeting more than trying to reach consensus?

Nicol: I am not sure, but he was not on the original schedule and his speaking forced the scheduled presentations to be abbreviated. His presentation took over a half hour of the hour-and-a-half for the arranged speakers. Other speakers clearly cut their comments back.

Author: These are important people who were there, accustomed to being listened to. Did they leave the conference appeased?

Nicol: I thought most people left angry. There were Texas Border Coalition members there, the Mayors of McAllen, Eagle Pass, and El Paso, business leaders, environmentalists, and agriculture representatives — there are even judges in the Texas Border Coalition. And having listened to the press conference afterward, I think many attendees did not feel they were dealt with in a straightforward way.

Author: Thanks for your comments.