ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CAUSING DAMAGE ON PUBLIC LANDS

WASHINGTON -- Undocumented immigrants heading north, drug smugglers
protecting their goods and law enforcement agents trying to secure
the U.S.-Mexico border have damaged wildlife habitats in forests,
wildlife refuges, wilderness areas and tribal lands in the Southwest,
a lawmaker and several witnesses told a congressional panel Thursday.

They said illegal foot and car traffic has increased on federal and
tribal lands as the Border Patrol has built double fences in the San
Diego area and cracked down on illegal crossings at Southwest urban
areas. People rove along the border looking for isolated areas where
they can cross.

Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., who testified before the House
appropriations subcommittee on the interior, said the tougher border
enforcement had pushed illegal border crossing into his district. He
said damage done by undocumented immigrants and smugglers is
compounded by law enforcement actions such as "road and wall
construction, off-road vehicle patrol and construction of camps and
other facilities in wilderness areas." These things "are
contributing, I think, to the lasting damage that we're seeing in our
public places and our desert landscapes."

Government witnesses said it could take decades to repair sensitive
lands scarred by footpaths and roads, destroyed by camp fires and
polluted by debris and human excrement left by people entering the
United States illegally.

At Coronado National Forest in Arizona, some water sources have been
so contaminated by debris that wildlife can no longer use them, said
Tina J. Terrell, a forest supervisor.

The roads and trails "destroy cactus and other sensitive vegetation.
They destruct wildlife and destroy their habitat. They cause erosion
in riparian areas and they destroy cultural and historical
resources," said William T. Civish, district manager for the Bureau
of Land Management's Gila District in Arizona.

The agency has 8.8 million acres within 100 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Witnesses said crime by gangs, human and drug smugglers and
undocumented immigrants also has forced federal land agencies to
require staffers to have law enforcement escorts into some areas.
People illegally crossing from Mexico into the United States are
often robbed or assaulted by border bandits, Terrell said.

In 2005, more than 150,000 pounds of marijuana were seized and
100,000 undocumented immigrants arrested on national wildlife refuges
along the border, said Mitch Ellis, manager of the Buenos Aires
National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona.

"Have we lost control or are we in danger of losing control (of our
border)?" asked Rep. Charles Taylor, chairman of the House
appropriations subcommittee on interior.

Taylor, who supports building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border
and tough border enforcement, called the hearing to compile
information about damage to federal lands so he could work with other
congressional committees and the Bush administration to devise
policies to enforce border security while also protecting public and
tribal lands.

"Border security and law enforcement problems must be solved first,"
Taylor said.

Colorado Rep. Thomas Tancredo, a leading advocate of fencing along
the U.S.-Mexico border, said a report he commissioned from the
Government Accountability Office in 2004 had noted the increasing
illegal traffic across the border.

"The situation is dire," Tancredo said.