American Border Patrol
2160 E. Fry Blvd.
Sierra Vista, AZ 85635December 15, 2006
Declaration Alliance
Border Fence Project
P.O. Box 3766
Houston, TX 77253Ref: Your Direct Mail Solicitation A-8766
Dear Declaration Alliance:
American Border Patrol is concerned that your plans to construct fencing on the U.S./Mexico border faces obstacles, technical, operational and legal, that are not being revealed to the public.
Your solicitation of December 12, 2006 (A-8766), says "the border fence design includes:"
++ Barbs every 3 -5 inches with each rung of wire six inches apart;
These changes will do little to deter illegal aliens from crossing a five-foot fence. Also, it is likely you will need a permit to deviate from standard stock fencing when working on federal or state lands;
++ Solar motion lights with sirens;
If these devices are placed on a border fence they will be removed by individuals who will not have to leave Mexico to do it. You will need a permit for federal and state land.
++ Regular areas (on private land) of double fencing, earth walls, and trenches spread out along the fence.
Private land represents less than 10% of the land in Arizona (the major smuggling route). Of the land that is private, it is very unlikely that either the owner will allow you to build such a fence or, given that the owner agrees, the civil jurisdiction would issue a permit to do so. Even if all these conditions are met, the resulting fence would do nothing to stop illegal aliens from crossing the border.++ Electronic sensors that determine if the wire has been cut;
Illegal aliens do not have to cut wire to cross a five-foot fence. Moreover, this system requires a control unit mounted on the fence. This would be easily vandalized. If the system in fiber-optic wind would generate false positives and vandalism would be very costly to repair. You will need a permit for state and federal lands.
++ Hidden television-camera-audio units for up to every _ mile of fencing, depending on the landscape;
If the cameras are wireless, it will take sixteen to cover four miles. There is just not the bandwidth available to do this, even if it is IP based.
How will the cameras be powered? If it is solar, they cannot be hidden. If they are connected to a power source, extensive trenching will be required and this will be very expensive. If you are talking about federal or state land, it is extremely unlikely they will let you do it.
If the cameras are to look down-the-line to see border crossers as they cross they will have to be very close to the border - less than the width of the border road. It will be virtually impossible to hide such units. If they are farther away, they will have to be mounted on poles to see over terrain and foliage, making them vulnerable to vandalism. (Note: The Border Patrol camera towers, with some exceptions, are at least 1,000 feet from the border and are at least 50 feet high and are in secure facilities - and they have been vandalized.)
++ Generation 1 and 2 infrared video cameras
"Generation 1 and 2" is a term applied to low-light-level cameras. They do not use infrared technology. The latest low-light technology is Generation 4.
Government Approval
You claim to have been mending Department of Interior (DOI) fencing on the border since 2005. Mending ranch fences, whether they are under the jurisdiction of the federal or state government, is standard practice. Making capital improvements is another thing. To install cameras or other devices on federal or state lands you will need a permit. It is extremely unlikely that such a permit would be issued.
Summary
Your proposed fencing system does not reflect an understanding of technology, the border situation, or the regulatory environment. On all counts, your proposal is not feasible.
It is inappropriate to solicit funds for this kind of endeavor.
Yours truly,
Glenn Spencer
President