Mexican sewage warfare blocking border enforcement, agent warns

Are the Mexicans using "sewage warfare" against U.S. Border Patrol agents? A top Border Patrol agent warns that something isn't right out there. Christopher J. Harris, senior patrol agent at the Border Patrol and a top official with Local 16 of the National Border Patrol Council, told an American Freedom Alliance conference Sunday in Los Angeles that the situation in Imperial Beach, where Mexican raw sewage is being pumped onto San Diego beaches with impunity, is more than just ruined beaches and noxious smells, as the media have reported. It's a toxic hazard to those who serve in the capacity of border security.

"Agents come to me with chemical burns, with shoelaces and bootlaces that have dissolved. You don't get to that area on border," Harris said, without encountering the toxic sludge. For Harris, who works with the Border Patrol's union, it's an unacceptable risk for agents whose jobs already are some of the most dangerous in the country. Referring to the rocks and gunfire border agents regularly encounter as they go up against human traffickers and smuggling cartels, he said: "We are willing to be assaulted, but we not willing to work in a chemical dump," he said. "It's chemicals in four or five areas, and you can smell it." He said that thus far, there has been very little official interest in resolving the situation as the Mexicans continue to release the toxic sewage into San Diego. "It's chemicals. We need help with that and ask the EPA to come forward and do something for that," Harris said, but nothing so far has been forthcoming. Governor Jerry Brown, who made his name on environmental issues, is similarly indifferent, his openly stated support for illegal immigration obviously outweighing his interest in environmental regulation. Environmental groups have been no help, either, Harris said, noting the absent interest from the Sierra Club. Worse still, city officials from Port of San Ysidro, Imperial Beach, and others with an interest in placating the Mexicans have attempted to sweep the problem under the rug, too. "We're getting push-back from that. They're saying, 'Just stay out of that,'" Harris said. We've asked before if the Mexican government has been using sewage warfare on the U.S. border as a means of protesting U.S. immigration enforcement. We now learn it's worse than ever as toxic sludge coming from Tijuana's unchecked sewage plants endanger the lives of U.S. Border Patrol agents near Imperial Beach. As for the Mexicans and whether this toxic sewage assault on U.S. Border Patrol agents is intentional, Harris wouldn't speculate. "I don't make that leap, but I don't think they give a s---."