The red line depicts the planned placement of a new $309 million border wall running from the Huachuca Mountains to Kino Springs. Map by Robert Gay
By and large, people who choose to live in eastern Santa Cruz County do so because they value the peace and quiet of a rural lifestyle, but it seems that every two years our communities face a new threat to this existence.
In the beginning (or, if you prefer, 2021) the threat of 200 mine trucks per day travelling to and from the Hermosa Project was a bit of a wakeup call, leading to angry public meetings and the Town of Patagonia restricting the numbers of large trucks within the town limits. In response, South32 bought up a large swath of mostly undeveloped land north of the town, bisected it with a road and convinced the county to call it a park.
Then, in 2023, former Governor Ducey came to the dubious conclusion that Conex boxes could solve the immigration crisis and, at a cost of $95 million, he tried to deliver 3,000 of them to the San Rafael Valley over the quaint one-way Elgin Bridge and down the narrow twisting Elgin Canelo Rd., sideswiping vehicles along the way until the project was abandoned and the containers all had to make a return trip through Elgin and Sonoita.
And now, in 2025, it seems that we are going to be dealing with a huge number of 40’ semis coming from Benson through Patagonia into the San Rafael Valley carrying enough steel and materials to build a 33-mile-long, three-story tall border wall stretching from east of the Coronado National Memorial to Kino Springs. Needless to say, this new wall will dramatically change the landscape of the San Rafael Valley.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the wall to be built earlier this summer, saying “Owing to the high levels of illegal entry within the Tucson Sector, I must use my authority… to install additional barriers and roads in the Tucson Sector.”
This statement, however, is belied by Customs and Border Patrol’s own statistics. The Tucson sector, which covers 262 miles of border from the New Mexico line to Yuma County, saw a 95.7% decrease in apprehensions over the last year, with only 968 apprehensions over the entire sector this past June, part of a downward trend that started in August, 2024 under the Biden Administration.
Noem is also waiving more than 30 environmental and preservation laws, which has caused an outcry from environmental groups. Laiken Jordahl, Southwest Conservation Advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), called the San Rafael Valley “the last, best remaining corridor for jaguars, ocelots and antelope. Sealing it off will sever the wildlife in Arizona from wildlife in Mexico.” CBD and Conservation Catalysts have already filed a lawsuit in Tucson District court to halt the construction.
Bud Bercich, whose family has ranched in the San Rafael Valley for the past 141 years—and whose ranch runs within a quarter mile of the border—doesn’t see the need for the wall. “There’s nobody crossing over now,” he said.
Bercich argues that the camera towers built across the valley and the regular drone patrols already provide adequate defense against crossers. He’s more concerned about the threat of new wells being drilled and the amount of water that will be needed for the wall’s construction.
“The construction of the wall will definitely bother the wildlife, everybody,” Bercich said. “We’re just hoping it doesn’t happen.”
It’s easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged by all that we see going on around us. There’s no shortage of things to worry about in these parts right now. Homeowners in the 58-square mile “cone of depression” surrounding the Hermosa project are worried about their wells drying up due to the dewatering of the mine. Low-flying military helicopters are rattling windows in Patagonia at all hours as part of the ramped-up military presence along the border. It looks like our schools and fire district will never recoup all the money stolen from them by the former County Treasurer, and the threat of wildfires hangs over the whole region as the drought continues.
But there are some bright spots, people continuing work to make things a little better here in the eastern part of the county: a group of cheerful volunteers in Patagonia created a summer lunch program that provided close to 900 lunches for hungry local kids; the PVFR Steak Fry raised over $26,000 to help keep Patagonia safe; and volunteers are working to keep the pool open. Other groups are cleaning up the San Rafael House, providing medical supplies to residents, and helping people with repairs to their homes.
In other words, folks around here have been making people’s lives a little easier for a lot less than $309 million. That wall could have funded an awful lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
It is our objective as a community newspaper to present many views to our readers. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of this publication. If you would like to contribute your opinion or commentary, please email your article or letter to editor@prtnews.org. We reserve the right to edit submissions for language, clarity, length and content.