U.S. Border Fence Protrudes Into Mexico

Boundary disputes aren’t limited to disagreements between neighbors living in residential subdivisions.  Apparently, part of the border fence built by the United States in 2000 was built along an existing farm fence and was discovered to be over the border by 1 to 6 feet.  The fence is in New Mexico and the problem is explained as follows:

James Johnson, whose onion farm is in the disputed area, said he thinks his forefathers may have started the confusion in the 19th century by placing a barbed-wire fence south of the border. No one discovered their error, and crews erecting the barrier may have used that fence as a guideline.

"It was a mistake made in the 1800s," Johnson said. "It is very difficult to make a straight line between two points in rugged and mountainous areas that are about two miles apart."

The encroachment was discovered by a "routine" aerial survey in March revealed the problem. The entire story can be read here