Construction of new border wall sections along the southern reaches of the Rio Grande River are to begin in early 2020, according to an announcement by the U.S. Customs & Border Protection in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The wall will directly impact the operations of Texas produce growers in the valley.

CBP awarded three contracts to construct approximately 65 miles of new border wall system within the U.S. Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector located in Texas’ Starr, Hidalgo and Cameron counties. The border wall system will include an 18- to 30-foot-tall steel bollard wall, all-weather roads, lighting, enforcement cameras, and other related technology to create a complete enforcement zone. Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2020, pending availability of real estate, and will take place in locations where no barriers currently exist.An inner tube was left high on a Texas riverbank, which is part of Frank Schuster’s Val Verde Vegetable Co. farm property in Alamo, TX. Photo by Tad Thompson

CBP specifically indicated that border wall construction will not take place at five parks within the designated construction areas. One of the five parks is the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Grower Frank Schuster of Val Verde Vegetable Co. Inc. has his home in front of that Alamo, TX, refuge.

Schuster said the contract to build a wall on his property east of Santa Ana was finalized a year and a half ago. In mid-September 2019 he received notice that this construction would begin in six months. Schuster said the wall will bisect parts of his farming operation. The CBP has agreed to build 50-foot wide gates in the wall to give his farm equipment access to the riverside part of his farm.

“Something needs to be done to control illegal traffic,” Frank Schuster said.

He believes the priority in solving the immigration problems on the Mexican border should be to “straighten out the immigration laws. Unfortunately, that has not happened, so the U.S. is spending all of this money -- and it is a substantial amount of money. As long as the laws are the way they are, people will continue to come in undocumented because it is so difficult to come in through the legal process.”

Frank Schuster’s cousin and neighbor, Fred Schuster of Rio Fresh Inc., is another key vegetable grower, farming along the Rio Grande River with his children Courtney and Taylor Schuster. The Produce News was unable to reach them for comment as this story broke.

Dante Galeazzi, the president and chief executive officer of the Texas International Produce Association, said, “We have mixed feelings about the wall.”

While it is important to stop illegal border crossings, “we advocate using 21st century technology” instead of physical barriers, which have had mixed results elsewhere along the border.

Galeazzi said one of the concerns with having a wall in south Texas is that the border is defined by the Rio Grande River. Thus, the wall must cross Texans’ property and the plans call for that wall to range from one-half to five miles from the river. Thus, it would “separate Americans from Americans. Mostly it would be farmland on the south side of the wall.” Growers who have keypads to open gates to their walled-off property are potentially put in danger because of their knowledge of gate codes, which would be valued by cartels.

Galeazzi said the initial CBP plan called for barren land as wide as 150 yards on either side of some sections of the wall.

CBP noted that the Rio Grande Valley “is the busiest sector in the nation and accounts for approximately 40 percent of the illegal alien apprehensions and, for the fiscal year to date, ranks first in seized cocaine and marijuana along the southwest border. Most of its activity is occurring in areas where RGV has limited infrastructure, access and mobility, and technology.”

Galeazzi accepts these statistics, but he notes that most of the contraband is crossed and/or stopped at the Rio Grande Valley’s ports of entry. He suggests that those ports of entry be provided with heightened personnel and technology to help enforce border laws.

“I understand the need for security, but are we talking about the right kind of security?” Galeazzi reiterates.

Bret Erickson is the senior vice president of J&D Produce Inc., which is based several miles north in Edinburg but operates one of its many farms several miles east of Frank Schuster’s property. Erickson said the that farm near Alamo is already south of a border wall section, and, of course, adjacent to the Rio Grande.

A two-lane crushed rock road provides an open exit out of this field. This is convenient for farming but provides minimal resistance to those leaving Mexico.

Erickson said a gate could be used to close this gap but cited several advantages for leaving the large open space. As Galeazzi mentioned above, Erickson is concerned for the safety of J&D employees, who would carry the key or know the electronic code to open the gate.

Furthermore, if the gate is locked and there were an emergency in the field, first responders might have a difficult time going to the rescue.

Generally, “people here are not to enchanted with having a border wall built,” Erickson said. “Landowners are not thrilled with eminent domain” and having part of their land seized. A wall passing through a field “makes it more difficult to get equipment in and out.”

Erickson would like to see more technology used to stop illegal border crossings. On the other hand, Erickson noted that any of the many conversations he has held with CBP officers indicate that a wall is very helpful for border enforcement, because it channels the immigration traffic.

Erickson said that “by and large, a lot of people coming here are looking to get picked up by the border patrol, so they can then seek asylum.”

From a company perspective, Erickson said, “We have seen that the wall has probably been a deterrent in reducing traffic through our area. A lot of the people that run into our field try to blend in with our field crews, but our crews know who they are and point out the others to the managers, who then call CBP.”

Erickson summarized, “this immigration deal is serious business.”

One of the three construction contracts on Sept. 29 was to build approximately 21 miles of new border wall system in Starr County, TX. This was awarded to Southern Border Constructors for the base contract amount of $120.4 million. The total contract value, including options, is $257.8 million. The project area begins west of Falcon Dam port of entry and extends eastward, in five non-contiguous segments, which will connect to other new border wall segments.

The second Sept. 29 contract will construct approximately 22 miles of new border wall within Starr and Hidalgo counties. This also was awarded to Southern Border Constructors for the base contract amount of $110 million. The total contract value, including options, is $258 million. The project area begins east of the Rio Grande City port of entry and extends eastward, in two non-contiguous segments, which will connect to other new border wall segments.

The third contract will bring approximately 22 miles of new border wall within Cameron and Hidalgo counties. This was awarded to Gibraltar-Caddell Joint Venture for the base contract amount of $155.3 million. The total contract value, including options, is $296.7 million. The project area begins east of the Pharr port of entry and extends eastward in 12 non-contiguous segments, which will connect to other new border wall segments.