Posted on 03/21/2011 7:22:56 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
The U.S.-Mexico federal border fence negatively affects minorities disproportionately, a study recently published by local university professors found.
The environmental effects of the fence on the people of the region, something little focused on amid the heated political debate surrounding it, was investigated by University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College professors Jude Benavides and Jeff Wilson.
"We do not want to speculate as to the intent of the government on where it was placed but the results are clear: the wall is in the backyard of those who would be least equipped to negotiate," Wilson, an environmental science professor, said. "This region suffers from extreme poverty and low education. The wall, given its placement, seems to exacerbate the undue burden that our already overburdened local community is trying to overcome."
The findings, published in the 2010 edition of the annual journal "The Southwestern Geographer," found that groups like Hispanics, those with low income and people who are foreign born, were most affected by the fence in Cameron County.
With the combination of the Secure Border Fence Act of 2006 and another 2008 appropriations bill, the federal government was set to construct about 700 miles of barrier, about 315 miles of which is in Texas with much of it on private land, the study said.
"It was an issue literally in our backyard," Benavides said in a press release. "No one was doing these types of studies, which would have been part of an environmental assessment study."
The research itself took place in 2007 and found Cameron County had one-third of the proposed fence gaps, more than any other Texas county, the study said.
Meanwhile, the government encountered significant resistance, the study said, some calling the fence’s placement "arbitrary."
The government was not forthcoming on its method to determine where the fence would go, so much so that eventually a lawsuit was brought against the Department of Homeland Security and Corps of Engineers to get the latest data, Wilson said.
He said researchers suspect the disparities may have been widened with the fence’s current location compared to its proposed location.
"Obviously, the groups more in position to negotiate are going to be the ones with greater means and educational qualifications," Wilson said.
UTB-TSC itself filed a civil lawsuit against DHS when it was proposed the fence run through the university’s property. The two entities reached a compromise in August 2008.
Benavides and Wilson collaborated with several other academic entities on the study, including the University of Texas at Austin’s Working Group on Human Rights and the Border Wall and the Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice.
Currently, Wilson said, he and his fellow researchers are analyzing the final location of the fence compared to its planned location to find any changes in disparities.
Future research is in the planning stages regarding the deaths of undocumented immigrants in Arizona and California border regions in the context of the fence’s construction, he said.
The fence has pushed undocumented immigrants further into remote locations where water and shelter are not readily available, which results in more deaths, Wilson said.
Would the minorities by any chance be Mexican illegals? Well, then, well-served.
LOL. This study reads like Mad Libs.
“The U.S.-Mexico federal border fence negatively affects minorities disproportionately”
Amazing someone can write a line like that with a straight face...
Of course it effects minorities...the ones we don’t want to come into the country illegally. What did they think? We were trying to keep the Americans OUT of Mexico?
A border fence is a border fence is a border fence . . . keeps illegals out . . . what the hell is this argument about? How can you possibly be a minority if you’re not a citizen???? What a total, mindless article!
Sure explains the problem with our education system....
Don’t forget the terrorists. They would have a difficult time climbing the fence wearing their suicide bomb jackets.
Liberalism is a mental disease.
Wonder how much taxpayer money was spent on this study with all those Leftist institutions and academics involved? Only a genius in the environmental “science” department at UT-Brownsville could come up with such an inane report. Undoubtedly, more taxpayer money and amnesty for all the squatters in the Valley would solve the problem.
Get the total f out of here with this insanity!
Did he study the DISCRIMINATION against people from countries all over the world with good intent to become citizens here, who cannot get in because we have 12-20 million Mexicans who were able to just walk right in illegally?
Wasn't that the whole idea? Aren't they the illegal aliens we are trying to keep out?
Classic.
And BTW in follow up, the discrimination includes against Mexicans and others from Latin America, etc who are waiting to come here legally.
Only the ones trying to break into our country.
groups like Hispanics, those with low income and people who are foreign born, were most affected by the fence in Cameron County.
Laws against criminal activity negatively affects criminals disproportionately.
Mexican ilegals are now on the Endangered Species List thanks to that eevil fence.
The opening sentence sounds as though it came from the humor site “The Onion.”
exactly.We should write the onion and tell them some other organization is plagerizing their stuff.
This is a biased news story about an moron-level report by pseudo-academics who apparently specialize in intellectual dishonesty, if one stretches the meaning of “intellectual” out of all proportion. The fence was built where it was built because that was as close to the border DHS could build it, given that there is a river and a flood plain running through it. Duh. And of course poor “minorities” were impacted — that’s who lives there. Except that they aren’t the minority in South Texas, Anglos are, due to decades of illegal immigration. I guess these genius “professors” would prefer they built the border fence in Wisconsin, where there are more Anglos. Also: there were several dozen environmental studies done, which the Herald reported on in depth, and, as to “The government was not forthcoming on its method to determine where the fence would go,” yeah, except for the dozens of public meetings that were held to discuss it. And as far as “more deaths” goes, they offer no proof whatsoever. YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK, TEXANS. Critical thinking skills apparently not required at UT Brownsville. Are there no editors are the Brownsville Herald?
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