Free Republic

When it rains in this border town, toxic goo from Mexican slums and factories flows down the Tijuana River onto U.S. soil. It winds through tidal marshes and ends up in the Pacific Ocean, closing the beach to swimmers and diehard surfers 198 days last year. The U.S. government found a novel fix: pay a private developer an estimated $700 million to build and manage a treatment plant in Tijuana, Mexico. If the plant sells recycled water to thirsty Mexican factories, U.S. taxpayers will get some of their money back. Ground has not yet broken and the 7-year-old agreement between...

A meeting of civic, business and government leaders from both sides of the border yesterday was intended to foster economic integration of San Diego County and Baja California. But participants in the Forum Fronterizo soon found themselves addressing a very different topic: illegal immigration and the proposal for a new border fence. “Building a wall is an anachronism,” said Jessie J. Knight Jr., president and chief executive of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “Nobody can possibly believe that this is the solution. . . . There are other ways to ensure security.” The Forum Fronterizo, sponsored by the...