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Daily Events…
Boots on the ground,
well, sort of
By Audrey Hudson
“Boots on the ground”-that’s what President Barack Obama says is
protecting our southern border-20,000 border patrol agents, 40,000
boots on the ground.
He said it last week during a speech in El Paso, Tex., and a new
investigation by HUMAN EVENTS concurs.
Well, the boots on the ground part anyway, because Border Patrol agents
have to abandon their vehicles at makeshift Normandy-style fences
constructed by our own Park Service on the U.S. side of the border.
They are then forced to chase illegal aliens on foot so as not to
disturb the fragile desert ecosystem.
In one Arizona park, federal agents practically have to tiptoe through
40 acres to avoid disrupting a pond containing the endangered desert
pupfish.
It’s part of the agreements made between Homeland Security and the
Interior Departments on how best to protect the environment,
frustrating lawmakers who say it should not trump border security.
“Under Secretary Napolitano’s leadership, we have strengthened border
security beyond what many believed was possible,” Obama said.
He continued, “They wanted more agents on the border. Well, we now have
more boots on the ground on the southwest border than at any time in
our history.”
There are also more hooves on the ground. Border Patrol agents can
mount a horse to give chase across the delicate territories, but the
animals must consume weed-free-feed or their waste must be scooped up
and disposed elsewhere to protect the fragile ecosystem against
invasive weed species.
Some Republican lawmakers have had enough of what they call “arbitrary
regulations,” and are pushing legislation in the House and Senate to
put border patrol agents back in the driver’s seat.
– Audrey Hudson
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