Federal officials postponed poisoning a mile-long stretch of the Rio Grande's banks this week after residents complained that doing so posed health and environmental risks on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it wants to eradicate the invasive Carrizo cane infesting many portions of the Rio Grande's banks between Texas and Mexico. The lanky cane provides cover for immigrants crossing the border illegally and poses a danger to Border Patrol agents trying to stop them, said Chuck Prichard, spokesman for CBP's Laredo sector.
"Someone can be in the cane and be 3 feet away from them, and you cannot see them," Prichard said during a Wednesday phone interview. "[A Border Patrol agent] could literally be surrounded and have no idea."
The controversy over the test project comes as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Mexico to discuss border security and other issues concerning U.S.-Mexico relations.