ACALA, Texas — On each side of a towering West Texas stretch of the $2.4 billion border fence designed to block people from illegally entering the country, there are two metal footbridges, clear paths into the U.S. from Mexico. But the U.S.-Mexico group that owns the footpaths across the Rio Grande calls them something else.
“Technically speaking, it’s not a bridge, it’s a grade-control structure,” said Sally Spener, spokeswoman for the International Boundary and Water Commission. The structures under the spans help prevent the river — and therefore the international border — from shifting.
Whatever they’re called, there are fresh sneaker tracks on the structures — indicating they’re being used as passages into the country.
After a private meeting with Rio Grande Valley police chiefs Thursday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said news of the unsecured footbridges did not surprise him. “This is a long border,” he said. “It’s been discouraging that there’s something as obvious (as the bridges) and the federal government hasn’t addressed it.”
Ramiro Cordero, Border Patrol special operations supervisor, insists agents in the area pay close attention to the bridges and other areas easily crossed on foot or by car. He said there also are numerous underground sensors around the bridges that alert agents to area traffic.
“We would be happy to work with Border Patrol if they have security concerns they’ve identified,” Spener said.
