LAT: "In Border Battle, Land and Wildlife Suffer"

From this:

Mountains of trash, recurring fires, despoiled natural springs, vandalized historic sites and disappearing wildlife are part of the devastating toll that the government's running battle with smugglers and migrants is taking on national parks and wildlife refuges along the U.S. border with Mexico.

In southern Arizona, the damage extends to American Indian and private land, jeopardizing a broad expanse of the Sonoran Desert, which boasts a greater diversity of plant and animal life than any other North American desert.

At Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, 2 1/2 million pounds of garbage is scattered through broad valleys and desert arroyos every year, according to Roger DiRosa, the refuge manager. Officials with the U.S. Border Patrol say the refuge's seven mountain ranges -- home to bighorn sheep and a prized destination for wilderness hikers -- now serve as posts for lookouts who use night-vision equipment to track Border Patrol movements. Mountain peaks conceal clandestine radio repeating stations. Illegal ``ghost roads'' carved by smugglers and pursuing federal agents crisscross Cabeza Prieta and nearby Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument...

Can you guess what comes next? (Besides more damage reports, that is). Yes, you're right: the Los Angeles Times blames the Border Patrol for the damage. As if all that trash just fell from the sky and wasn't left there by the illegal crossers that the Los Angeles Times supports.

Perhaps the L.A. Times should consider dropping their support for illegal immigration if they want to help fix the problem. Write: readers.rep *at* latimes.com with your thoughts.

Immigration · Thu, 03/09/2006 - 05:19 · · Importance: 1