A few years back I did a story about environmental impacts at the border. In part it was prompted by the Real ID act, which had a provision in it that would give Homeland Security waiver power over environmental and labor laws. The law passed with some border pilot project money, but not the provisions. The idea, however, stuck around.
Congress later gave the federal government the power to waive federal environmental – and labor, let’s not forget – laws when border security is at stake. And when the federal government has really, really wanted to, it has used it.
And now this story describes the biggest-ever waiver of laws – so that more fencing can be built. Fencing that we know will just move traffic differently over the thousands of potential miles of border crossing, but won’t end it.
I’ll be checking into who passed that law. And I’m curious about how existing fences have affected traffic patterns across national lands – especially since I believe those lands’ managers have been keeping track.
