Tortilla Wall
{{short description|Border barrier along the Mexico-United States border near San Diego, California}}
{{For|the John Sladek short story|The Great Wall of Mexico (short story)}}
Image:Tortilla Wall fencehill.jpg
Image:US-MEX Fence TJ BorderField.jpg
The Tortilla Wall is a term given to a 14-mile (22.5 kilometer) section of United States border fence between the Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego, California, and the Pacific Ocean.{{Citation|last=Rodriguez|first=Olga R.|title=U.S. Border Fence Plan Upsets Mexicans|newspaper=Forbes|date=2006-10-05}}
This "San Diego wall" was completed in the early 1990s. While there are other walls at various points along the border, the Tortilla Wall is the longest to date. No other wall sections have evolved distinct names, so the name is often used to describe the entire set of walled defensive structures.
The Tortilla Wall is marked with graffiti, crosses, photos, pictures and remembrances of migrants who died trying to illegally enter the United States.
Effectiveness
The effectiveness of the wall has been significant according to U.S. Congressional testimony by Representative Ed Royce:
...apprehensions along the region with a security fence dropped from 202,000 in 1992 to 9,000 in 1994.{{cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRECB-2006-pt13/html/CRECB-2006-pt13-Pg18236.htm|title=PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 6061, SECURE FENCE ACT OF 2006|author=|date=2006|website=www.gpo.gov|publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office|access-date=2017-12-01|quote=A fair question is, how effective has it been in San Diego? Well, apprehensions along the region with a security fence dropped from 202,000 in 1992 to 9,000 in 1994.}}
The building of the Tortilla Wall is generally considered by Mexicans to be an unfriendly gesture.{{cite web|author=|title=Mexican anger over US 'trespass'|date=2007-02-23|publisher=BBC News|website=bbc.co.uk|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6390291.stm|accessdate=2012-09-06}}
It is a symbol of the controversial immigration issue. It is argued that the wall simply forces illegal border crossings to be moved to the more dangerous area of the Arizona desert.
Expansion of the wall
In 2006, the U.S. Congress passed the Secure Fence Act of 2006{{cite web|title=H.R. 6061|publisher=U.S. Government, House of Representatives|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:H.R.6061:|accessdate=2012-09-06|archive-date=2012-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214082317/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:H.R.6061:|url-status=dead}}
which authorized spending $1.2 billion to build 700 miles (1,100 km) of additional fencing on the southern border facing Mexico.
Anecdotal wall stories
Image:Tortilla Wall drugtunnel.jpg
Tunnels under the wall are still a common way to illegally cross the border. Some tunnels are quite sophisticated. One such tunnel created by smugglers ran from Tijuana to San Diego, was a {{convert|0.5|mile|km|adj=on}} long, and included a concrete floor as well as electricity.{{cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/security/systems/mexico-wall.htm|title=Great Wall of Mexico|author=|date=2017-09-24|website=globalsecurity.org|access-date=2017-12-01}} Other tunnels have included steel rails, while some tunnels are simply dirt passageways or connect to sewer or drain systems.{{cite web|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20061010-1000-bn10tunnel3.html|title=Border crossing goes awry when man gets stuck in tunnel exit|last1=Baker|first1=Debbi Farr|last2=Martinez|first2=Angelica|last3=Kucher|first3=Karen|date=2006-10-10|website=signonsandiego.com|publisher=Union-Tribune Publishing Co.|access-date=2017-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061125030610/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20061010-1000-bn10tunnel3.html|archive-date=2006-11-25|url-status=dead}}
As a stunt, a circus cannon was placed on the south side of the wall and an acrobat was blasted over the wall into Border Field State Park in the U.S. He had his passport with him.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4192448.stm|title=Cannonball man flies over border|author=|date=2005-08-28|website=bbc.co.uk|publisher=BBC News|access-date=2017-12-01}}
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See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061007064652/http://www.otaymesa.org/ab_otay/port_of_entry.html Otay Mesa Port of Entry]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060924181730/http://www.bts.gov/help/border_crossing_entry_data.html Bureau of Transportation Statistics Border Crossing Information]