Top Mexican Diplomat Tours Border Fence

TIJUANA —  Mexico’s top diplomat made her first official tour of the U.S. border Wednesday and was decidedly unhappy with what she saw.

Foreign Minister Rosario Green, who assumed office in January, expressed dismay over possible environmental damage in Tijuana stemming from construction by the U.S. Border Patrol of a patrol road and backup fence parallel to the steel barrier now separating the two nations.

The partially completed fence project, calling for massive earthmoving in spots along the border’s westernmost 14 miles, is mandated under a 1996 U.S. immigration law and is part of the 4-year-old federal crackdown on illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Environmentalists charge that the grading could endanger habitats for rare plants and birds. Project backers say extra fencing will protect sensitive areas by keeping out the trampling feet of illegal immigrants.

Green, a former ranking United Nations official who at times has been critical of U.S. policy in Latin America, asserted that the grading associated with the fence project could erode Tijuana neighborhoods perched nearby.

“It is very sad. We think the border should be a place for encounter and cooperation, not a place for separation,” Green said. “We are working with the American government to create a new vision of the border. But now that I come and see the border, it worries me.”

Green didn’t cross the border during the 90-minute tour that zipped from a dense hillside neighborhood overlooking the construction zone, raced past the San Ysidro border crossing and ended where the 2,000-mile international border meets the Pacific Ocean. The visit, though hurried, highlighted two issues that show the complex relations between Mexico and the United States: U.S. border enforcement efforts and Mexico’s recent move to grant nationality to people of Mexican heritage who are citizens of other countries.

Green also touched on other border issues, including migration and the war on drug trafficking. She is due in Washington next week to discuss anti-drug efforts with U.S. officials.

It was the ground-level scene that seemed to leave the biggest impression.

In a stop east of the San Ysidro crossing, Green peered over the fence at an area where U.S. crews have leveled scrubby terrain in preparation for the patrol road and fence. An official from the Mexican section of the International Boundary and Water Commission described the project and concerns about erosion. Green shook her head in disapproval.

Later, she said the work is on hold so U.S. authorities can consult with Mexico over potential environmental impacts during winter rains.

But U.S. construction officials said the work, suspended for the winter rainy season, does remain on track. Crews are prepared to move quickly to prevent Tijuana hillsides from eroding, said California National Guard Capt. Wade Rowley, who has overseen some of the construction.

“There isn’t anybody in the world who wants that to erode less than me,” Rowley said.

Green’s visit also underlined the personal ties that bind the two nations across boundaries. In a ceremony at a beach in Playas de Tijuana, Green handed documents conferring Mexican nationality upon 20 people who had gained U.S. citizenship or were born abroad to Mexican parents. The recipients “never stopped being Mexicans,” Green declared, standing 30 feet from the westernmost border marker.

The recipients were among hundreds to have gained dual nationality from Mexico since a law in Mexico revoked a rule stripping nationality from those who became citizens of another country. The law, which took effect in March, is expected to affect millions of Mexican-born Americans or their children. Mexican nationals can own property, invest without restrictions and find it easier to get work or go to a public university in Mexico.

One of those receiving Mexican nationality was 31-year-old Martha Elena Garcia Garcia, who was born in Los Angeles but lives in Ensenada. The move might help her find work as a secretary. She already knew where her heart was.

“I feel very much a Mexican,” the woman said.