New mapping has revealed that part of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is actually intruding on Mexican land, usurping between 1 and 6 feet of Mexican soil for more than a mile. The U.S. insists it was a mistake, but Mexico wants its land back.
"A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman said the vertical metal tubes were sunk into the ground and filled with cement along what officials firmly believed was the border. But a routine aerial survey in March revealed that the barrier protrudes into Mexico by 1 to 6 feet."
"James Johnson, whose onion farm is in the disputed area, said he thinks his forefathers may have started the confusion in the 19th century by placing a barbed-wire fence south of the border. No one discovered their error, and crews erecting the barrier may have used that fence as a guideline."
"The Mexican government was notified and did what any landowner would do: They sent a note politely insisting that Mexico get its land back."
"'Our country will continue insisting for the removal (of the fence) to be done as quickly as possible,' the Foreign Relations Department said in a diplomatic missive to Washington."
"Now embarrassed border officials say the mistake could cost the federal government more than $3 million to fix."
Read the full story: U.S. Border Fence Protrudes Into Mexico
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