A false choice by waiving laws

Re “Rules waived for U.S. fence,” April 2

As a result of the latest waiver of law by the Bush administration (remember sonar and whales?), illegal immigrants won’t be the only ones on our southern border ignoring the law. Once again, the administration has provided a false dichotomy of choice between national security and the rule of law.

Congress decided that to secure our border, we need a 700-mile fence. Although I don’t want the fence, it went through the right process, so the check on this decision is the National Environmental Policy Act. But now this protection and a valuable set of checks and balances have been waived. This fence will extract an environmental cost on many species. Congress has allowed important environmental laws to be ignored in the name of security. What’s ironic is that, in effect, it is flouting the rule of law to enforce the rule of law on others.

Emily Creely

Costa Mesa

--

Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff exercised his waiver capability to place the nation’s security above environmental concerns. Disappointingly, no equivalent position guards the nation’s economy. With such a position, a similar waiver could open America’s significant, yet untapped, petroleum reserves, thereby placing the economy above environmental concerns. Besides the removal of federal and state taxes on petroleum products, no other avenue offers the chance of a swift and long-term reduction in the price of crude oil than the unleashing of a flood of it from the U.S. into the world market.

John Kountz

Laguna Beach

--

What if things get so bad in this country under our delusional leader in Washington that people try to flee across the border the other way? Imagine frantic Minutemen trying to shinny up the fence. Priceless!

Gilbert Dewart

Pasadena