One_liners

_A Texas rancher fights for his rights after he finds a Border Patrol surveillance camera on his property, refuses to return it because he was tired of agents routinely trespassing on his land, and then sues the agency.

_Peter Simonson, executive director of ACLU of New Mexico, an SBCC partner organization, thanked New Mexico Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall for not allowing Dreamers’ lives to be ransomed for a harmful wall.

_The FBI has determined that the death of Border Patrol Agent Rogelio Martinez near Van Horn, Texas_which was used to score political points by Trump and others_was likely an accident.

Must_reads

_Totally bass-ackwards. Even during the ongoing debate on gun control and how to prevent mass shootings, Trump tweeted and re-ignited his call for a harmful border wall by spewing misleading, fear-mongering rhetoric about MS-13 gang violence. He still doesn’t seem to get that the majority of Americans support a Dream Act and oppose a border wall. Even fewer support a border wall if it comes with a $25 billion price tag. Think of all the better places to spend that money than on a useless, not to mention insulting, wall. Trump and Congress would be wise to heed the majority opinion of their constituents. We need bridges, not walls.

_Spy v. Spy. Ever wonder what kinds of surveillance technologies are used at the border and what the future might look like in neighborhoods nationwide? This article illustrates how Border Patrol is looking to implement facial recognition software in thousands of small drones. “We’re normalizing all this technology without input from the community,” said Astrid Dominguez, border rights director for the American Civil Liberties Union and SBCC steering committee member. “People don’t realize it’s already happening.” Big Brother is watching.

_Between you and me and a wall. A two-mile section of fencing is being replaced in Calexico, CA, with 30-ft bollard fencing as part of the first “wall” construction contract under the Trump Administration. In January, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen also waived environmental laws to replace vehicle barriers with bollard fencing along the border in Santa Teresa, NM. The shameful, excessive authority to waive laws protecting the environment, water, tribal lands, and more was granted to the DHS Secretary by the Real ID Act of 2005. Seems like they are acting above the law, no?

_Renew calls to Congress. Congress goes back into session on Monday, so now would be a good time to renew calls for a clean Dream Act with no further border militarization.

-------------------

border_lines is published every Friday for your reading pleasure. If you’d like to submit an item for inclusion, please email Vicki B. Gaubeca at [email protected], by Wednesday COB.

subscribe to border_lines