Critics oppose Border Patrol herbicide plan

 Critics are protesting a Border Patrol plan to poison vegetation along a 1.1-mile stretch of the Rio Grande riverbank to eliminate dense foliage used as hiding places by illegal immigrants and smugglers.

Some opponents of the action compare it to the Vietnam War-era Agent Orange chemical spraying program.

The $2.1 million pilot project is due to begin this week. If successful, it could be expanded along as much as 130 miles of river in the patrol’s Laredo Sector, as well as other parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Opponents are concerned that the spraying will occur near the cities of Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

“We don’t believe that is even moral,” said Jay Johnson-Castro Sr., executive director of the Rio Grande International Study Center, located at Laredo Community College, adjacent to the planned test area. “It is unprecedented that they’d do it in a populated area.”

The Border Patrol and Environmental Protection Agency officials say the herbicide planned for the test is safe for animals.

The program is intended to keep Border Patrol agents safe and make their jobs easier.

“We are trying to improve our mobility and visibility up and down the river,” said Border Patrol agent Roque Sarinana.

Members of the Laredo City Council have raised concerns and called on Mexico President Felipe Calderon to intervene. Mexican officials are worried that the herbicide – imazapyr – could threaten the Nuevo Laredo water supply.

Imazapyr was registered in the United States in 1984. The EPA concluded after tests that “there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result to the general population, and to infants and children from aggregate exposure to imazapyr residues.”