Texas officials are calling on the federal government to ditch plans to build a pedestrian fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing the fence will not stop illegal crossing.
"The Texas Border Coalition wants a House-Senate conference committee to remove language from the spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security that would require the government to replace vehicle barriers and a high-technology "virtual fence" with pedestrian fencing.
Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, the coalition's chairman, said the current fence, at a cost of $3.5 billion, has forced narcotics traffickers and smugglers of undocumented immigrants only to develop counterstrategies to move contraband and people into the United States."
The group opposed to the fence includes city and county officials. They say the effort aimed at thwarting drug traffickers is doomed to fail.
Read the full story: Group wants fence provision out
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