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Residents of Granjeno, Texas are upset that the federal government proposes (I'll believe this when I see it!) to build 700 miles of fence at the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants and drug smugglers (
link). About seventy miles of actual (as opposed to virtual) fence will supposedly be built in the Rio Grande Valley by the end of 2008. One section
might cut through the property of approximately thirty-five of Granjeno's houses. The proposed fence would be at least fifteen feet high and capable of withstanding a crash of a ten thousand pound vehicle going forty mph, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
I loved reading the names of the residents complaining about the proposed fence: Daniel Garza, Cecilia Benavides, J.D. Salinas, Alberto Magallan, and Manuel Olivarez Jr. Hmmmm, what's the common denominator here?
Gloria Garza, Daniel's niece, worries that the fence will destroy the town where she's lived all her life.
Quite honestly, the third worlders streaming into first world countries will destroy
everyone's way of life.
The government has offered to buy the residents' homes for fair market value, but apparently that's not good enough for them. As always, special treatment is the order of the day. Think about all the people who have lost their homes for other reasons: the formation of manmade lakes, the constructing and widening of roads and highways, etc.
Bring the troops home from fighting Israel's war and let them guard the borders of the U.S. With all the money that would be saved, the infrastructure could be built up so there would be no more collapsing bridges and small towns could afford paid firemen (as opposed to the usual volunteer corps).