Thanks to the border wall, ocelots like this one won't take jobs from Americans.
(Newscom)Photos (1 of 1)
Border wall successfully halting illegal immigration (of wildlife)
By Eoin O'Carroll | 07.31.09
Those who wish to secure America’s borders from ocelots, pronghorn antelopes, gray wolves, and bighorn sheep scored a victory earlier this month, as an amendment to a Homeland Security bill passed by the House mandates an additional 369 miles of fence that will prevent these animals from crossing the border.
The border wall, which was constructed after waiving three dozen federal environmental laws, is expected to be successful in reducing populations of these and other species, most of whom do not speak English or pay taxes. The science news site PhysOrg reports on a study for the peer-reviewed journal Conservation Biology, which found that Sonoran bighorn sheep populations north of the border rely on contact with those on the other side of the border to maintain genetic diversity.
A 2007 report in Salon found that habitat fragmentation was also reducing populations of ocelots – a rare species of wildcat that some argue could potentially steal jobs from Americans.
Indeed, the only large mammal whose migration is largely unaffected by the border wall are H. sapiens, whose opposable thumbs and developed neocortex enable them to simply use ladders or dig tunnels under the fence. Last year, the Federation of American Scientists reported that the US Border Patrol had discovered 93 cross-border tunnels since 1990.
What’s more, almost half of illegal human immigrants avoided the border wall altogether by entering the US on a legal visa – an option not available to members of other species.
Still, by some measures, the border wall can be considered a success. Since its construction, there have been no reports of pronghorn antelopes enrolling in public schools, and the number of ocelots working in service industries appears to have been sharply reduced.
according to the Pew Hispanic Center, as many as 45 percent of undocumented foreigners in the United States didn’t creep through the desert or float across the Rio Grande in an inner tube: they just overstayed their visas (the same thing done by at least six of the 9/11 hijackers).
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2. Olivia | 08.01.09
To Susan Calender: I agree, but if the Monitor didn’t alert us to their plight, how would we be able to help them, either through the political process or prayer or, better yet, both?
I’m sure as you wrote this, Eoin, that you were thinking that H. sapiens have allowed their neocortexes (neocorti?) to become stunted and regressive — just the opposite of “developed.”
Moreover, I sense you are saying, between your wit-filled lines, that ocelets, pronghorns, bighorns, wolves and the like do a much better job of using their moral intelligence than do H. sapiens.
In fact, it would seem that some of us blast our brains (metaphorically speaking) to smithereens with every blow of the hammer that’s being used to build that “keep out your neighbors” wall.
No, it’s not that I believe illegal entry is hunky dory. It’s not. Rather, this sad consequence you write about, Eoin (and which we were warned about by the environmental groups), proves that myopia, dread and panic can never come up with correct, successful solutions to problems. And so the innocent (the lovely, pure-hearted, common-sensical wild animals) continue to suffer in silence, and slowly slip into oblivion.
4. Rich | 08.02.09
Thank you for this story. Unlike Susan, I do not want to hear fluff stories about wildlife when they are in real peril.
When the wall isolates small populations of wildlife from other populations, they become subject to inbreeding, increased susceptibility to disease and local disasters (flood, fire, etc.), and possible extirpation.
Please call your representative to stop the wildlife wall (not to mention a colossal waste of our tax dollars).
5. Nick | 08.02.09
To Susan,
If the Christen Science monitor were to include more positive animal stories or a 50/50 balance of positive and negative stories about animals or even a 25/75 positive/negative ratio then this would present a wildly inacurate picture of the world situation for the vast majority of non-human animals.
Pretending that a problem does not exist or I believe more accurately in this situation, underestimating a problem, is only likely to impact an outcome for the negative.
6. Mark Viehmann | 08.03.09
Eoin, Please spare us all the acid in your blog. The truth is that we, as a nation, have allowed 10-20 MILLION illegal immigrants to migrate to our side of the border, and this is disrupting federal constitutional law, and weakening us as a people and a country. Environmental degradation has continued, but pollution controls enacted since the environmental activist President Richard Nixon in the early 70’s have made so many problems better. Perhaps you could spend some time trying to think up a viable alternative to the fence.
7. Scott | 08.03.09
Eoin seems very out-of-touch with the realities and seriousness of illegal immigration in our communities. While a wild animal can be very adaptive and live quite well on “either side” of a wall, a family member killed by a drunk illegal with a criminal record of catch-and-release cannot be overlooked in this trade off between animal life and real people.
8. David | 08.03.09
I would love to hear the author’s solution for stopping the massive illegal border crossings (currently a significant problem) without impacting the local wildlife. Or, does she only come to us with sophomoric complaints and no solutions?
9. Tony | 08.03.09
This wall is a waste of money, let the animals go where they want. All poor people should also be free to travel across the borders anytime they want and from any country they are welcome here.
10. Phillep | 08.03.09
Parts of sensitive habitat along the border are practically paved with plastic bags, water bottles, and human dung.
Isn’t the garbage the illegals leave behind harmful to wildlife?
11. Chris_CZ | 08.03.09
The Border Wall in San Diego reduced illegal immigrants pouring into America by over 80%. It’s that wall that allows the Border Patrol to do their job. Without it, thousands more foreign nationals would penetrate into our country every year. If we did not have such a problem with humans invading our country, your flippant article would not justify a response. However, there are irrefutable and overwhelming statistics from all parts of the country that illegal immigration is a massive problem.
If your problem is the wall, fine let’s militarize our border to shut it down. The wall is just a measure to help our understaffed border patrol agents do their job of thwarting foreign nationals from free entry into our country. If you do not like this particular measure, suggest another in it’s place.
If the goal is to have a secure border, we obviously need more than just a few border patrol agents for dozens of miles of border area. If your goal is not to have a secure border, I would direct you to the myriad of web sites that detail specifically how illegal immigration is hurting Americans, for example immigrationshumancost.org. Americans continue to be harmed every day by illegal immigrants who have no right whatsoever to be here. I am completely in favor of legal immigration. I am not in favor of illegal undocumented foreign nationals assuming they have rights to be here.
Illegal immigration must be thwarted somehow. It’s against the law to be in the USA illegally. Hopefully we can all agree on that. After all, isn’t following the law a Christian value that should be upheld and not ridiculed?
12. Charlie Anonymous | 08.03.09
As one who relies heavily on undocumented domestic help, I resent the restrictions on access to some of these species. All apologies to the local SPCA aside, the local population seems unmotivated and unwilling to give a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay. My son who resides in a “border state” is the beneficiary of chihuahuas that help with rodent and insect control and companionship for a mere cup or two of Purina a day.
13. Doug R. | 08.03.09
The funny thing is no mention of the trash and garbage on the southern border caused by illegal immigrants. My guess is that this author has never been down to the Arizona border to see the garbage 3 feet deep and covers many square miles. But yet she is worried what a wall will do to wildlife? Give me a break!
It is simple. Will the wall stop illegal immigration alone? NO… No one is saying it will. Does it make it harder for someone to cross without permission rather they be a illegal immigrant, a terrorist, a criminal fleeing their home country? YES! A wall, more border agents, sensors, unmanned aircraft, cameras and technonolgy are also part of this. We are a nation we have a right to secure our borders and ports.
14. Mike McFadden | 08.04.09
Perhaps (and this is a giant assumption) the great American culture is taking a hit from illegal immigrants but there are many factors that are causing a perceived toll on this wonderful American life. One such factor is uncontrolled xenophobia.
Also, I believe Eoin’s gender falls on the male side of h. sapiens.
15. MaryJ | 08.09.09
According to one news report I read, the illegals have left 25 million pounds of toxic trash in our Southwestern wildlife areas. Yes, 25 million pounds! The trash includes human waste such as used toilet paper which is of course very damaging to wildlife.
Citizens of the Southwest routinely organize clean-ups to rid these wildlife areas of the trash, but they don’t have the resources to even begin to address the problem. In addition to the trash, the illegals carve much-traveled illegal trails in our wilderness areas too, with little thought for the wildlife whose habitat is being destroyed by these trails. It’s funny I never hear any “environmentalist” (quote marks fully intended) complain about the massive environmental damage that illegal tresspassers are creating in the Southwest, nor do I ever hear an “environmentalist” (quote marks also fully intended) complain about the massive environmental damage being done to California’s state and national wilderness parks by the Mexican drug cartels who grow massive amounts of pot on formerly pristine wilderness.
The environmental movement has unfortunately just become another left-wing, Marxist pressure group. Caring about the environment is the last thing on their minds; enforcing left-wing ideology is their primary purpose. Left-wing ideology demands mass immigration and so therefore, they are against a border wall! If Eoin is upset about the threat to wildlife in the Southwest, I suggest she participate in one of the citizen-organized clean-ups of illegal alien trash. But then picking up used toilet paper is not as easy as bloviating on a blog about a subject you know nothing about.
16. Ed Flowers | 08.10.09
Thank you for the appropriate and convincing article.
There is a very inappropriate expression that is used by many people: “Illegal immigrant.”
There is no such thing. No person, nor even any living thing, is illegal. Where they are or what they are doing might be.
Walls are just unfriendly and inconvenient. We need to talk.
17. Krista | 08.13.09
Thanks for the article CSM. Some of the comments that have followed suggest the lack of information that people are getting about this wall that the Congressional Research Service reported may cost $40 to $50 Billion dollars over its lifetime. And both the current and past secretary of Department of Homeland Security have both said it will not stop people. It did not stop people in San Diego, contrary to a comment above, it merely shifted their traffic patterns to more remote places, and since then thousands have died. Immigration needs a solution in the US, but a real solution, not an expensive political distraction that is devastating to wildlife and will be more so as global warming continues to heat and dry the southwestern deserts. Migration is essential to wild animals–suggesting that an animal could live just as easily on either side of a wall misses entirely the realities of biological necessity.
18. Krista | 08.13.09
Additionally, about the comment that scattered trash is as dangerous to wildlife as blocking all north-south movement in an era of global warming–this is just silly. I’ve spent a lot of time on the border and have seen scattered piles of trash and they are insignificant in relation to the longterm genetic and habitat peril that a wall places upon thousands of wild animals. Just ask any wildlife conservation organization or wildlife biologist. These issues are not even in the same universe.
19. selena | 08.29.09
I recently attended a presentation on the consequences of the border wall on wildlife and humans. One outrageous fact presented was that the wall took approximately 5 minutes more to get over than if it weren’t there. Humans use ladders. The wall is ineffective at stopping humans from crossing the border. The cost of the wall is huge, and ironically it is being built along two states that are so in debt that in some places they can’t afford full-time principals and staff for their schools (Tucson Unified School District). Everyone suffers from this, the humans, the animals, the communities along the border and nothing is gained. Let us remember why people come to our country. Who would risk their life to get into the U.S. if it were not a matter of life or death? Sierra Club produced a short video on the wall if anyone is interested in learning more about it.
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1. susan calender | 08.01.09
It’s so good to hear good news for animals. It seems so much suffering goes on in the animal world. I would love to hear more GOOD stories about animals whether domestic or wild in the Monitor.
Thanks so much