VOA常速英语2007-Texas Border Mayors Attack Planned Fence

By Greg Flakus
Houston
16 October 2007

Mayors of several Texas towns on or near the US border with Mexico are filing legal actions to stop the federal government from building a planned security fence to deter¹ illegal immigrants and drug smugglers. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Houston, both Mexico's current president and former president are also weighing in against the fence.

Mayors and city councils all along the Rio Grande river, which forms the border with Mexico, are banding together in an effort to stop construction of the fence.

Patricio Ahumade Junior, the mayor of Brownsville, Texas, just across the Rio Grande river from Matamoros, Mexico, says he will deny federal surveyors access to city land to plot locations for the fence. He has also filed suit on behalf of the city to stop construction of the fence. Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas has called the planned fence a wall of shame, and Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster continues to oppose the fence even though he says he has received hate mail.

The mayors have found support from environmental groups who argue that the fence would disrupt the natural migration² of wildlife in the Rio Grande river valley. Most business leaders in border towns also oppose the plan, saying it would create bad feelings with Mexico, a country on which they rely for most of their commerce.

In an unusual move, critics of the fence plan have been joined by both Mexico's current president, Felipe Calderon, and former President Vicente Fox, both of whom have appeared in recent days on U.S. television news programs criticizing the planned fence.

President Calderon appeared on ABC TV's Good Morning, America program last week. He said the flow of workers from his country to the United States is natural, given the demand for lower cost labor³ in the United States and the ready supply of young workers willing to migrate from Mexico.

"It is impossible to stop that by decree, it is impossible to stop that with a fence," he said.

While acknowledging the right of the United States to control its border, the Mexican president said the proposed fence is not the solution to the immigration problem. He said the ultimate solution is for Mexico to keep these hardworking laborers⁴ at home by providing them with good jobs there.

"I do not want to see Mexico as a permanent provider of workers to the United States," said President Calderon.

Former President Fox, currently in the United States promoting a book he wrote about his years in office, has appeared on numerous programs calling the fence a mistake that would harm bilateral⁵ relations. He argues that the best way to deal with the immigration problem is a guest worker program.

According to plans disclosed by the federal government late last month, the fence here in Texas would cover 112 kilometers in 21 segments and stand nearly five meters high. Those in favor of the fence say it would demonstrate U.S. resolve to protect the border from smugglers, illegal immigrants and possible terrorists. Among the strongest backers of the plan are ranchers who own property on the border. They say illegal border crossers disrupt their work, damage their property and sometimes threaten their safety.

The U.S. Congress approved the fence project in 2006, and it was signed into law by President Bush. The fence would extend 1,120 kilometers along the entire U.S.-Mexican border, but not all of it would be an actual barrier. Nearly half would be a so-called "virtual fence" utilizing⁶ high technology sensors⁷ and cameras as well as special deployments of Border Patrol agents.

1 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

2 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

6 utilizing   

v.利用，使用( utilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Utilizing an assembler to produce a machine-language program. 用汇编程序产生机器语言的过程。 来自辞典例句
• The study and use of devices utilizing properties of materials near absolute zero in temperature. 对材料在接近绝对零度时的特性进行研究和利用的学科。 来自辞典例句

7 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句