Is Yuma’s double fence a model for border security?

The Facts:

Dr. Carson is nearly correct when he cites the high percentage of undocumented immigrants who are stopped in the Yuma Sector, in western Arizona, one of the nine sectors into which U.S. Border Patrol divides the U.S.-Mexico border. This region is often held up as an example for the impact of increased border security measures, including fencing.

According to a December 2012 GAO report, Border Patrol estimated that it apprehended or turned back 93.74 percent of border-crossers in the Yuma Sector in 2011, the second-highest figure of all nine sectors. Out of all Southwest border sectors, the most significant decrease in the number of apprehensions of undocumented migrants has been in Yuma – falling from 138,438 apprehensions in 2005 to 5,902 in 2014, a nearly 96 percent drop. However, attributing this solely to the construction of a double fence is an overstatement, and ignores other factors that may have played a role.

While there is double fencing in Yuma, it does not stretch across the entire sector. Out of Yuma’s 126-mile border with Mexico, 81 miles have pedestrian fencing, meaning fences designed to stop people from being able to walk across. Vehicle barriers, which do not pose an obstacle to people on foot, cover the remaining 45 miles. Carson is likely referring to the 8.3-miles of triple-layer fencing near the San Luis Port of Entry, which includes “a 12-foot-tall metal wall, followed by more than 30 yards of floodlit ground, then a 16-foot-tall steel-mesh fence, and finally a chain-link fence with razor wire on top,” according to theNational Review.

The fencing is just one of several factors. The Yuma Sun reports that border officials credit a number of reasons for the dramatic decrease in apprehensions. These include increased technology, a weaker U.S. economy, harsher immigration laws, and violence along the border. Another is a sharp growth in manpower. Since 2004 the number of agents assigned to the area has more than tripled, increasing from 331 agents to 987 in 2010, before dropping down to 859 agents in 2014.

The Border Patrol also cites “enhanced relationships with military, state, local, and tribal partners” as additional factors, as well as harsh policies questioned by human rights groups, such as Operation Steamline, which requires that undocumented immigrants be arrested and prosecuted in federal criminal court. There, they are subject to group trials that are decided by judges in as little as 30 minutes, which can result in sentences of up to six months.

Any apparent success in Yuma, or in other Southwest border sectors, however, does not address the underlying conditions driving migration, including the pervasive violence and poverty in places like Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, nor does it translate into a permanent policy solution. 

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