Under pressure from South Texas elected officials, the army has removed military-grade wire along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border the Trump administration had targeted for higher security, according to ABC News.
Army personnel took down two miles of wire from city-owned land in Laredo, the report said, citing Border Patrol personnel. The action came after local officials complained about the environmental and safety risks of barbed wire being located near city parks.
“They want to be overly protective,” Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz told ABC. “But at what cost? The cost to the local economy. The cost to our livelihoods here at the border area.”
The local pushback comes as Trump threatens to shut down the government to ensure more funding for the border wall he promised during the 2016 election. The administration also recently extended its deployment of U.S. troops along the border through January.
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This article appears in Dec 12-18, 2018.
