clipped from: www.guardian.co.uk Plan would eliminate dense foliage used as hiding places by illegal immigrants and smugglers
Some opponents of the action compare it to the Vietnam war-era Agent Orange chemical spraying programme.
"We don't believe that is even moral," said Jay Johnson-Castro Sr, executive director of the Rio Grande International Study Centre, located at Laredo Community College, adjacent to the planned test area. "It is unprecedented that they'd do it in a populated area."
One method calls for the cane to be cut by hand and the stumps painted with the herbicide. Another involves using mechanical equipment to dig the cane out by the roots, possibly without the need for the herbicide.
The third and most controversial removal method calls for using helicopters to spray imazapyr directly on the cane, until all plant life in the area is poisoned.