In the war on the U.S.-Mexico border, the battle against illegal immigration frequently loses out to rigid environmental laws, which have blocked construction of parts of the 'virtual fence' and that threaten to create locations where agents can't easily track illegal immigrants.

According to the Washington Times, "documents obtained by Rep. Bob Bishop and shared with The Washington Times show National Park Service staffers have tried to stop the U.S. Border Patrol from placing some towers associated with the 'virtual fence,' known as the Secure Border Initiative or SBInet on wilderness lands in parks along the border."

In a surprisingly candid letter addressed to members of Congress, Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary, claimed that her department would have to delay pursuits of illegal immigrants while waiting for horses to be brought in so that agents won't trample protected lands, and warns illegal immigrants would increasingly exploit the use of remote, protected territories to avoid getting captured.

As reported by the Washington Times, "the documents also show the Interior Department has charged the Homeland Security Department $10 million over the past two years as a 'mitigation' penalty to pay for damage to public land that agencies say has been caused by Border Patrol agents chasing illegal immigrants."

Rep. Bishop, Utah Republican, who requested the documents, said, "I want this resolved so border security has the precedence down there. If wilderness designation gets in the way of a secure southern border, I want the desdignation changed. If it means you lose a couple of acres of wilderness, I don't think God will blame us at the judgement bar for doing that."

The Washington Times reports that, "the conflict between the environment and border security has raged for the past decade as better enforcement in the urban areas has pushed the flow of illegal immigrants into some of the nation's most remote and fragile desert."

To read the entire article from the Washington Times, link here:

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