Thread: Border fence could be new president's problem

Border fence could be new president's problem
By EILEEN SULLIVAN – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the agency that oversees the Border Patrol said Wednesday he cannot promise to meet President Bush's goal of completing a Southwest border fence when he leaves office in January.

The plan calls for finishing building 670 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border by year's end; so far, 344 miles are complete. But Ralph Basham, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, told lawmakers he only could assure that the remaining portions of fence would be under contract or under construction when the Bush administration is over.

He also said the agency needs an additional $400 million to complete the project. Basham cited higher costs for fuel, steel and labor.

"We face many challenges in achieving our goal," Basham told the House Homeland Security Committee.

The Sept. 11 attacks revived the immigration debate and advanced the idea of a border fence. Intelligence officials have said gaps along the southwestern border could provide opportunities for terrorists to enter the United States.

The fence is not intended to stop illegal immigration altogether, but make it more difficult for people to get into the U.S. illegally, administration officials say.

The overall plan for security on that border includes additional Border Patrol agents, more enforcement of immigration laws, the fence and a high-tech "virtual fence" with surveillance technology.

Boeing Co. has the contract for the technology portion of the fence, as well as for some construction work. Boeing's contract for the technology is up in 2009. If the administration is not satisfied with the work Boeing has done, the Government Accountability Office — Congress' investigative arm — suggested that a new contractor take over. According to the GAO, Boeing has $933 million worth of work on the project.

Since 2006, Congress has set aside $2.7 billion for the fence. But there's no estimate how much the entire system — the physical fence and technology — will cost to build, let alone maintain.

The technology portion has run into problems. It once was billed as a relatively easy plan to use off-the-shelf technology to help federal agents spot illegal crossers. When a GAO investigator toured a stretch of the "virtual fence" three months ago, it took 45 minutes to get the surveillance system up and running. The system includes towers with radar, cameras and communications equipment.

Basham told lawmakers, however, that the priority is to complete the physical fence.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jE_b ... AD9345HG80

The illegal criminal aliens and Americans don't have a chance against the green card holders and the i-9er baby producers!

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Oh we have many illegals! But the new fight which we must fight is legal immigration. Dear Lord Help Us!

The i-9's and the green cards are killing the jobs totally for Americans.

Where are the Americans working?

Hate or Love a country? Is the question?

http://tinyurl.com/5tv8k4

BALTIMORE -- A Snow Hill man will spend three years in prision for trying to bribe state and federal officals in a scheme that cluminated in raids on several Lower Shore businesses last fall.

Javed Iqbal, 40, was also given three years supervised release Tuesday for a racketeering conspiracy related to a scheme to bribe officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to illegally obtain green cards and the Maryland Comptroller's Office to receive abatement of state taxes, said officials from the U. S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.

REMEMBER THIS BECAUSE THIS IS THE LOOPHOLE... ALL FOREIGNERS WANT I-9'S AND GREEN CARDS AND ETC. THEN THE AMERICANS JOBS ARE THEIR'S LEGALLY AND THE BABIES PRODUCED ARE AMERICANS?