Despite opposition, border wall construction gains ground in New Mexico

SANTA TERESA, New Mexico (Border Report) — An imposing 30-foot steel barrier is rising above the southern New Mexico desert, part of the Trump administration’s push to wall-off the Mexican border. Workers on Friday could be seen digging trenches and fastening steel bollards to a concrete base several miles east of Columbus, New Mexico, an empty stretch where in years past U.S. Border Patrol agents often reported catching drug smugglers and groups of migrants coming over from Mexico. The structure is replacing miles of squat steel vehicle barrier easily bypassed by smugglers on foot. Its height also poses a challenge both to migrants and drug cartel members who’ve used ladders to get over sections of older 18-foot steel bollard in nearby Santa Teresa, New Mexico. “Smuggling organizations prefer to use these rural areas because they believe there’s going to be an opportunity for them to be more successful. So erecting a fence of this size that is so robust that can potentially just deter these (incursions) is a big plus for us,” said Mario Escalante, acting supervisory agent of the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector. Contractors say they’ve built 6 miles of border wall since August and have 40 more miles to go. The area for years has presented smugglers an opportunity to reach New Mexico Highway 9 to Columbus, then Interstate 10 West to Tucson and Phoenix in Arizona, and eventually, California. Unlike other parts of the country where federal officials are struggling to obtain right-of-way over private land, wall construction in New Mexico has been swift. The upgraded barrier here sits on federal land...MORE