New barrier going up in NM town known for illegal crossings

Associated Press

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. – A section of chain-link fence along the U.S.-Mexican border in an area known for illegal crossings is being replaced with a sheet-metal
wall similar to ones used in California and Arizona.

Wednesday, U.S. Border Patrol agents and Mexican mounted police watched over six Marines who will spend about 30 days welding two-tenths of a mile of new
panels in place.

The chain-link fence at the end of Anapra Road in Sunland Park has constantly been torn up with man-sized holes since it was erected in 1996, officials said.
Patching it has been a never-ending task.

"You'll see some pieces of our fence in houses on the Mexican side, being used as building material," said Rudy Karisch, assistant patrol agent in charge of the Santa
Teresa station.

The area has been troubled by vandals and robbers who steal from trains in the United States.

During a September sting operation to catch some of the robbers, two FBI agents were dragged through the fence in Anapra and beaten.

Border Patrol agents say they have been hit by rocks while making their rounds.

The Department of Defense donated the interlocking panels, which were used as makeshift landing strips in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Cutting through them would require several hacksaw blades, and climbing over is nearly impossible.

The panels are to be installed on a stretch of the border that runs up a slope and can't easily be observed by agents, said Maj. Al Riera, an engineer planner.

Joint Task Force 6, which lends military personnel to anti-drug initiatives around the nation, is paying for the project. Eleven miles west of Columbus, N.M., more troops are putting up vehicle barrier posts. The two projects are expected to cost $75,000, officials said.