Arizona Border Control Plan is Flawed, Will Only Continue to Exacerbate Existing Border Problems

Tucson, AZ - The Arizona Border Control Initiative (ABC), revealed today at a press conference by Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary Asa Hutchinson, will ask for more Border Patrol access to federally protected lands along the border. Arizona shares more than 100 miles of border with Mexico. Much of the land on the U.S. side is federal land that provides habitat for endangered species.

"In 2003, the bodies of 205 immigrants seeking work in the United States were found in the Sonoran desert of Southern Arizona," stated Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva. "These gruesome deaths are the predictable consequences of border enforcement strategies that close off urban border crossings and reroute migrants through treacherous areas. The time is right for a larger audience of decision makers to begin discussing how to fix a broken immigration system."

Rep. Grijalva continued, "Mr. Hutchinson described the Plan as an opportunity for law enforcement and communities to come together to solve a common problem, however, agency officials worked in a vacuum devoid of public input and without public hearings to develop this plan. The ABC Initiative has the chance of becoming another Operation Gatekeeper, but Homeland Security has never evaluated the overall effectiveness and effect of Gatekeeper on the border. I would suggest that we do that before implementing this new strategy."

"Pushing people into the desert will not solve the problem, and it will harm our fragile environment," said Rep. Grijalva added. "We need to know what environmental impact this plan will have on places like the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and Organ Pipe National Monument, but the agencies have not revealed this potential impact. The ABC Initiative is clearly another effort by the Bush administration to bypass environmental laws without public involvement."

"The granting of motorized access to foot trails will eventually create new roads on federal lands. This will exacerbate the difficulties of border policy enforcement because, once established, smugglers in vehicles will use these roads as well. More agents driving off-road through the desert will open up routes for more smuggling activities and cause untold environmental damage in the process."

The ABC Initiative is to be operational June 1 and continue to the end of September 2004.