Thread: McCain calls virtual border fence in Arizona a 'disgrace'

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Published: 03.03.2008
McCain calls virtual border fence in Arizona a 'disgrace'
The Associated Press

PHOENIX - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Monday that a high-tech "virtual fence" meant to secure Arizona's porous border against illegal immigration is a "disgrace."
"And all of us who know the need to secure the border are very disappointed," he told reporters in Phoenix. "It's so disappointing when Americans — one of their highest priorities is to secure our borders — that we have a major corporation that gets a major contract and it turns into be a failed effort."
The virtual fence near Sasabe, Ariz., is part of a national plan to secure the U.S.-Mexico border with physical barriers and high-tech detection capabilities.
McCain said fence contractor Boeing Corp. did not consult with states, the U.S. Border Patrol and other agencies as it spent money on the 28-mile array of radars and surveillance cameras.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced final approval of the fence last month. The government plans to extend the fence to other areas of the Arizona border, as well as to sections of Texas as early as this summer.
Last year, the government withheld some of Boeing's payments for the system because technology the company used in the test project did not work properly. Boeing also was late in delivering the final product. Because of this, the department received a $2 million credit from the company to go toward maintenance and logistical support of the system, according to Homeland Security officials.
The government paid Boeing $15 million of its initial $20 million contract before determining that there were glitches in the test project. The department gave a conditional acceptance in December.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said Monday that the virtual fence works and has helped capture 2,200 illegal immigrants since December.
She said the agency has been forthcoming about the technological deficiencies identified last year, and that's why acceptance of the project was delayed until last month.
McCain made his comments at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after spending the weekend at his cabin near Sedona. He left Monday for Texas, which along with Ohio holds a pivotal primary Tuesday.
McCain has a total of 1,014 of the 1,191 delegates needed to clinch the nomination at the Republican convention in September.
During a news conference at Sky Harbor, McCain also addressed other issues.
Asked whether Republican Rep. Rick Renzi should resign from office, McCain said he can't make that decision for him. "But I do believe Congressman Renzi should have the same benefit as every citizen of America, and that is the right of innocence until proven guilty."
Renzi, a three-term lawmaker whose district covers much of rural Arizona, was indicted last month on 35 counts including charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and extortion. The Justice Department accuses him of engineering a swap of federally owned mining land to benefit himself and a former business partner and stealing from his insurance company's clients.
Renzi has denied wrongdoing.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/78511.php

Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said Monday that the virtual fence works and has helped capture 2,200 illegal immigrants since December.

The fact that the fence has assisted in the capture of 2,200 illegal aliens means absolutely nothing without knowing the total number of attempted crossings in the same area. For example, 2,200 would be a very poor percentage if 10,000 were successful in eluding border patrol once they crossed the so-called virtual fence.

Forget the virtual fence and build Duncan Hunter's double-layered fence now!

McCain criticizes the bogus "virtual fence" but he's also stated numerous times that he's against a physical fence too. This is just campaign rhetoric of his to secure the border. What a globalist pig.

I don’t know, I think McCain knows disgrace better than anyone, know what I mean?