Fence is met with opposition

By Darren Meritz / El Paso Times

Article Launched: 04/19/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

Obviously, we're horrified by it," said Laurence Gibson, chairman of the El Paso group of the Sierra Club. "This is an ecological disaster. The Sierra Club's position against it is extremely strong and we're just really, really upset by it."

Officials with the El Paso sector of the U.S. Border Patrol confirmed Friday that about 3.75 miles of fencing is currently under construction on the east and west sides of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry and near the Camino Real Landfill.

Ramiro Cordero, a supervisory Border Patrol agent at the El Paso sector, said the fencing projects will use a post and rail design with wire mesh intended to create both a barrier for vehicles and a pedestrian deterrent.

Using the same design, the Department of Homeland Security has scheduled to begin early this summer a third stretch of border fence a little more than a mile in length, officials said.

Despite the controversy created since Congress approved funding for construction of a border fence and border security equipment, Cordero said he's heard only a limited number of complaints, even at a series of forums organized to share information on the project with the community earlier this year.