We had to kill the border in order to save it…

… or, that’s what Homeland Security is likely to be saying in a couple of years.

Arguing that “Getting rid of Carrizo cane should improve the Border Patrol’s ‘line of sight up and down the river,'” along the Laredo-Del Rio stretch of the Rio Grande/del Norte, Homeland Security plans to spray stands of Carrizo (Arundo donax) with Imazapyr, which is about the only thing that will effectively kill cane. Unfortunately:

Imazapyr by its nature does not distinguish between the plants it kills. Thus, rare and endangered plants are particularly at risk from exposure to the herbicide. The EPA has stated that “jeopardy” will occur to terrestrial and aquatic plant species from the use of Arsenal.

In soils, imazapyr is persistent. The EPA reports that the half-life of imazapyr is 17 months.  If applied to soil, imazapyr is expected to have very high mobility and thus is likely to contaminate water. Studies have detected imazapyr in surface as well as groundwater. If released into water or if the chemical moves through soils and finds its way to water, imazapyr is not expected to adsorb to suspended solids and sediment based upon the adsorption coefficient.

So, to recap. The Border Patrol is supposedly protecting Texas agriculture and business from Mexican workers. To do this, they need to watch the River. Carrizo Cane grows along the river, so they poison the river that permits agriculture and business to exist. Not to mention the Texans.
Smart, huh?

What the Border Patrol seems to have overlooked is that the international border they’re patrolling is … well… an international border.

On Thursday, March 19, the Tamaulipas State Legislature issued a statement requesting information about the proposed spraying from the Mexican and US sections of the International Boundary and Water Commission as well as Mexican federal agencies.

The zone targeted for spraying is across the Rio Grande from Nuevo Laredo’s Hidalgo neighborhood and only hundreds of yards from the Mexican city’s public water intake system.

Carlos Montiel Saeb, general manager for Nuevo Laredo’s water utility, said the Border Patrol advised his office to turn off water pumps a few hours prior to spraying. “If there is no problem, why are they asking us to do this?” Montiel questioned.

In Laredo, on the Texas side, there is also growing opposition, but then, the Border Patrol is part of Homeland Security, which doesn’t need to get permission from anyone, it seems.

(Quotes from Frontera Norte/Sur, via NarcoNews)