美国国家公共电台 NPR Acquiring Private Land Is Slowing Trump's Border Wall

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

President Trump¹ gets another $1.4 billion toward building his wall from the spending bill that passed the Senate yesterday. He wants to build 450 miles of wall by Election Day. But in south Texas, that looks less and less likely. Construction is already falling behind schedule because of the difficulty of taking private land. NPR's John Burnett has been looking into this.

CHAD WOLF: Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us here today.

JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE²: On a windswept day last month, acting³ Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, the Trump administration's point person on immigration, is at a construction site in Texas's Rio Grande Valley.

WOLF: RGV is ground zero for the security and the humanitarian⁴ crisis at the border.

BURNETT: Steel panels atop a concrete levee wall 30 feet tall are rising from the sugar cane⁵ fields and bird sanctuaries⁶ of the Rio Grande Valley, which is really a river delta⁷. This is the first section of new barriers built under President Trump. And Wolf says there's more to come.

WOLF: And on track to build 450 to 500 miles of new wall by the end of 2020.

BURNETT: That swaggering Washington confidence is not shared down here on the border, where few believe government can complete 450 miles in the next 12 months. The problem is the feds don't yet own most of the land they need to build the wall. In fact, the secretary's photo op was staged on a half mile of land recently acquired by the USA. But much of the property needed to complete that stretch of wall is still in private hands, according to county land records. Carmen Qualia is an assistant chief with the Border Patrol who's in charge of the RGV wall team.

CARMEN QUALIA: It's a big project. We're going to continue to do what we can to make it happen.

BURNETT: Throughout the Rio Grande Valley, construction starts have fallen behind schedule. One contract reviewed by NPR says construction isn't expected to begin on most wall sections until March of 2021, well after the election. Disorderly property records, complications with landowners and a cumbersome⁸ condemnation⁹ process have slowed progress to a snail's pace. That's despite an army of federal land specialists trying to rush the process to please the president. Consider this. The government plans to erect¹⁰ 110 miles of the total 450 miles of barriers here in the Rio Grande Valley. But as of last week, they still needed to acquire about 90 miles of land from private property owners. Asked about Trump's deadline of Election Day 2020, Qualia acknowledges it's slow going.

QUALIA: He said, hey, here's my deadline. Here's what I need you to do. So we're going to continue to work towards meeting that deadline. And we're either gonna make it or not.

BURNETT: But she says agents want the tall wall, along with floodlights, sensors¹¹, cameras and a wide patrol road in order to combat drug and human trafficking.

QUALIA: We've been asking for this technology. We've been asking for all this - the roads. And if it takes longer, it takes longer.

BURNETT: It will take longer in Texas. Unlike states to the west, where the border is mostly federal property, the Texas border is mainly in private hands. Some of the records go back to land grants made by the king of Spain. Under eminent¹² domain¹³, the government can take private property for public use, but they have to pay for it. And that process is legalistic and laborious¹⁴. Roy Brandys is an eminent domain lawyer in Austin with long experience representing border clients. He thinks erecting¹⁵ the border wall in the RGV by next December is a pipe dream.

ROY BRANDYS: That'd be very aggressive schedule, very difficult to get accomplished¹⁶ just because of all the different issues that properties have.

BURNETT: Each step of the process is proving problematic. First, the government has to identify and make contact with each property owner in Starr County at the western end to the RGV. The government is planning 52 miles of border wall. So far, the contractor¹⁷ has only broken ground in one parcel owned by U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Ultimately, they'll need to acquire acreage on hundreds of individual parcels. But here's the hitch¹⁸.

ROSALVA GUERRA: It's very difficult to know who the rightful owners are. That's the biggest challenge, I think.

BURNETT: Rosalva Guerra is the chief appraiser¹⁹ of Starr County, where property records are notoriously incomplete. She invites me into her tidy office and pulls up a map on her computer screen that shows all the properties in the county.

GUERRA: OK, let me see - www.starrcad.org.

BURNETT: The map is awash with red. That's the color they used to denote parcels where they're unsure of the owner. In Starr County, property has been handed down through many generations. It gets divided and subdivided²⁰ between heirs. But Guerra says they rarely establish clear title.

GUERRA: Can you imagine the long list of heirs to partition that?

BURNETT: So it's a nightmare trying to get title to this.

GUERRA: It's a nightmare. Yeah, it's just going to take a long time to be able to do that. I don't think it's going to happen by 2020.

BURNETT: Identifying the owners is only the first step. Then the government must request access to survey the land. So far, the Justice Department has had to sue nearly 50 property owners in the RGV just to get that access. One of those defendants²¹ was Delfino Garza, an architect in Starr County. He didn't want the government surveyors coming on his property outside of Rio Grande City, where he's got a vineyard.

DELFINO GARZA: This is our wine room. And this is where we age it, and we ferment²² it.

BURNETT: As a sideline, he planted grapes a decade ago, clearing thick brush down by the Rio Grande for his vine rows.

GARZA: After about the third year, we started to make wine. And now in the last year or so, they came to us about putting a border wall on our property.

BURNETT: Today, Garza is fighting the border wall. He voted for Trump, but he says he won't do so a second time. He fears the wall will kill his infant winemaking business.

GARZA: There's a lot of work and money that went into this property. And a border wall on a vineyard is not what we were building this place to be. People don't go to wineries to go see a border wall. And we want this to be an attraction for this city. This is just hurting us.

BURNETT: Carmen Qualia, the Border Patrol official in charge of the RGV wall team, says government land people are trying not to be heavy handed. They're spending time talking to landowners like Delfino Garza about the placement of the barrier in his vineyard.

QUALIA: I think it's important to note that we all live here, too. Our kids go to school. We go to church. We really take that into consideration when we're sitting down and meeting with these owners.

BURNETT: And inevitably²³, those discussions with landowners will delay the project further.

QUALIA: Things that are complicated typically do take time.

BURNETT: Meanwhile, Trump is impatient. He has appointed his son-in-law Jared Kushner to oversee²⁴ and speed up completion of the border wall. The president wants frequent updates. He reportedly told aides earlier this year, just take the land. In the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, it's not that easy. John Burnett, NPR News, Brownsville.

(SOUNDBITE OF WILCO'S "ON AND ON AND ON")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

6 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

7 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

8 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

9 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

10 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

11 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

12 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

13 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

14 laborious   

adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅

参考例句：

• They had the laborious task of cutting down the huge tree.他们接受了伐大树的艰苦工作。
• Ants and bees are laborious insects.蚂蚁与蜜蜂是勤劳的昆虫。

15 erecting   

v.使直立，竖起( erect的现在分词 )；建立

参考例句：

• Nations can restrict their foreign trade by erecting barriers to exports as well as imports. 象设置进口壁垒那样，各国可以通过设置出口壁垒来限制对外贸易。 来自辞典例句
• Could you tell me the specific lift-slab procedure for erecting buildings? 能否告之用升板法安装楼房的具体程序？ 来自互联网

16 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

17 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

18 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

19 appraiser   

n.评价者，鉴定者，估价官

参考例句：

• The certification is invalid without the signature of appraiser, checker and approver. 鉴定书无主检、审核、批准签字无效。 来自互联网
• The "quasi-balance" appraiser is the people and the historical development. “准平衡”的评判者是人民大众和历史发展。 来自互联网

20 subdivided   

再分，细分( subdivide的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The compound was subdivided into four living areas. 那个区域被划分成4个居住小区。
• This part of geologic calendar has not been satisfactorily subdivided. 这部分地质年代表还没有令人满意地再细分出来。

21 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

22 ferment   

vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱

参考例句：

• Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。
• The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。

23 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

24 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。