Operation B.E.E.F. Border Survey Released

Operation B.E.E.F. Border Survey Released

American Border Patrol -- October 19, 2007

American Border Patrol has released its most recent survey of the border as part of Operation B.E.E.F. The survey, conducted between Sept. 24 and Oct. 1, 2007, documents the status of border fence construction from El Paso to San Diego, a distance of 704 miles.

According to the survey, the Department of Homeland Security completed 64 miles of new single layer pedestrian barrier during FY 2007. More than half of the new fencing was built near Yuma Arizona. The figure released by ABP differs from a claim of 70 miles of completed fence by the DHS. According to Glenn Spencer, head of ABP, the difference is probably because DHS Secretary Chertoff is counting fencing under construction, but not completed.

Spencer said a DHS did a great deal of work since its August survey when only 16.6 miles of new fencing was under construction. "When we flew the border near Yuma on September 24 we were very impressed that DHS had added nearly forty miles of mesh paneling to the existing vehicle barriers to create a pedestrian fence," Spencer noted. Spencer said that while it didn't seem reasonable that many pedestrians would try to cross the desert at this point, the mesh panels made for a better vehicle barrier.

ABP also noted addition of pedestrian barriers in deep canyons in the mountains east of Yuma where earlier ABP surveys had documented numerous "two tracks" suggesting heavy vehicular traffic. "I was very pleased to see DHS taking action against obvious vehicular-based drug and people smuggling routes," Spencer noted.

Other additions made since the August survey included 3.7 miles near Columbus, New Mexico, 6.9 miles west of Calexico, California, and 3.3 miles at Sasabe, Arizona. New fencing west of Naco, Arizona is still under construction with only ten percent viable at the time of the survey on October 1.

While relatively small compared to the 700 miles of double fencing required by the Secure Fence Act of 2006, the additions to the border fence between the August and September ABP surveys demonstrate that DHS has the ability to erect barriers quite rapidly.

ABP plans to perform another Operation B.E.E.F. survey in the first week of November.