From: (b) (6)

To: (b) (6)

Subject: RE: more swell press
Date: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 2:28:50 PM

Do you suppose the photos would have been printed? The NGOs say whatever they want (obviously)
without a challenge. Not a comment about public response to the completed mileage either.

From: (b) (6)

Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 2:26 PM
To: (b) (6)
Subject: RE: more swell press

I like his take; at least he had the juevos to state the obvious. We could have provided billions of
photos to support what he is saying. I would also have sent before and after photos of fence
construction to show places where vegetation has returned to areas once denuded by foot traffic.

From: (b) (6)

Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 2:09 PM
To:(
Subject:
b FW: more swell press

From: (b) (6)

Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 1:38 PM
To: (b) (6)

Cc: (b) (6)

Subject: FW: more swell press

______________________________________________
From: (b) (6)
Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 12:07 PM
Subject: more swell press

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/01/AR2007100101463.html
Chertoff Blames Border Crossers For Land Damage
Tuesday, October 2, 2007; A17
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, whose department has come under fire from
environmentalists for fencing off hundreds of miles of the U.S. border with Mexico at
Congress's request, said yesterday that he knows of something worse for nature than a wall:
illegal immigrants.

"Illegal migrants really degrade the environment. I've seen pictures of human waste, garbage,
discarded bottles and other human artifact in pristine areas," Chertoff told the Associated
Press, in remarks confirmed by his spokesman. "And believe me, that is the worst thing you
can do to the environment."

Chertoff spoke as DHS announced it has more than doubled the number of miles of border
fencing in the year that ended Sunday, to more than 150. The agency is on track to meet a
goal of 370 miles of fencing and 200 miles of vehicle barriers along the 2,000-mile border
with Mexico by the end of 2008.

Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it will conduct environmental impact
studies on two proposed stretches of fencing, one extending about 70 miles southeast of Rio
Grande City in south Texas and another about four miles east of San Diego.

Environmentalists say studies are being done piecemeal and were neglected at six active
construction sites in Arizona. They say fences affect migratory and mating patterns and
destroy habitats used by 500 kinds of birds, as well as threatened species such as jaguars and
the Sonoran pronghorn antelope. Construction crews and the Border Patrol use off-road
vehicles that worsen the environmental damage caused by immigrants, they say.

Yesterday, the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife appealed to the Interior Department to
stop construction in a wildlife area on the San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona.

Congress has given Chertoff authority to waive legal requirements, including environmental
laws, to build border barriers. Pending legislation could require DHS to consult with local
and federal agencies to minimize environmental damage.

-- Spencer S. Hsu

© 2007 The Washington Post Company