Feds looking for border security contractors

We reported about DHS advising landowners in south Texas that their property may be subject to eminent domain seizure for the purpose of building the 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Despite the anger — and anxiety — these warnings have engendered in that part of Texas, the federal authorities are actively looking for companies to build walls and roads along the Mexican border, an area where homeland security projects are sure to spur a government contracting bonanza. Up to $750 million could be spent just on projects near Laredo and Brownsville, federal bid documents show. Bids for the Laredo project are due on 30 May, and federal records indicate that Houston contracting giant KBR is planning to submit a proposal.

The Forth Worth Star-Telegram’s Jay Root reports that there was a meeting yesterday between would-be contractors and the Army Corps of Engineers at the Embassy Suites Dallas Park Central Hotel to discuss the projects.

Barriers and other measures are being planned along long stretches of the 2,000-mile border. Officials and landowners in south Texas say the bidding process is more proof that the government is reneging on its promise to negotiate with them before proceeding with plans to build walls. They say physical barriers will interrupt trade, block wildlife and cattle from reaching the Rio Grande, and cause political division. “Our economic viability and our national security are at stake, and either we’re not being told the truth, or they are as bad as the Keystone Cops. Either way, it’s disturbing,” Laredo mayor Raul Salinas said.

Xavier Rios, a spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol in Washington, said the bid solicitations are a normal step in the process. He said environmental assessments and consultation with leaders and landowners will be conducted before any construction. He also said, though, that physical barriers — anathema to many in south Texas — are part of the deal.

The approximate value of the Laredo-area project is listed as $100 million to $250 million. Farther south, in the Rio Grande Valley, the price tag could come in at $250 million to $500 million, federal records show. The projects could include “construction and major maintenance/repair of reinforced fencing … vehicle and pedestrian barriers, gates” along with lighting, electronic sensors, and watch towers. “The priority mission … is to prevent terrorist and terrorist weapons from entering the United States, while simultaneously facilitating global trade (the flow of people and trade across the borders),” the Army Corps said in bid documents dated last month.

Elected leaders and business people in the area, using phrases such as “wall of shame” and “iron curtain,” argue that border walls will wreak economic and ecological havoc on the international boundary.