Texas mayor proposes border weir instead of wall

The mayor of Brownsville, Texas encouraged building a weir and reservoir along the Rio Grande rather than a 700-mile barrier. Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr. said that the alternative to the barrier would provide a new water source to Brownsville as well as a more effective and cheaper deterrent for immigrants to cross the river. He also claimed that the idea has received the support of both of Texas’ federal senators.

As we have noted in previous posts, opposition has increased in border communities to the planner border wall despite plans to start its construction this autumn. Though U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff promised that the government would be open to feedback from local communities, he did not “rule out” the possibility of using powers of eminent domain to seize land for the barrier’s construction.

Image- Otley Community Council (2004 photo of a weir in the town of Otley, England)

Sources- Brownsville Herald, The Latin Americanist, KTLV, Reuters