Thread: Southwest border fence hits 500-mile mark

Southwest border fence hits 500-mile mark

31 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government has completed 500 miles of fencing along the Southwest border, 170 miles short of its goal.

At this pace, the administration expects to have at least 600 miles complete by Jan. 20, when Barack Obama takes over as president, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said earlier this month.

The president-elect said last week that he wants to evaluate what's working on the border as he considers whether to continue building the 670 miles of fencing. But by Chertoff's estimation, there will not be much left to build.

Homeland Security officials earlier this year said the fence would not be completed by Dec. 31, as planned. About 160 miles have been built since August, despite calls by some groups to delay construction.

As of Dec. 12, 500 miles had been completed, said Customs and Border Protection spokesman Mike Friel.

The fence along the U.S.-Mexico border is not intended to stop illegal immigration altogether, but make it more difficult for people to enter the U.S. illegally, Bush administration officials say.

It has been controversial and has faced several lawsuits, none successful so far.

Congress authorized the fence in 2005 to help secure the border and slow illegal immigration, and gave the homeland security secretary the power to waive the federal laws. Obama, as a senator, voted for the fence.

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

In September, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Ralph Basham told Congress his agency needed an additional $400 million to complete the project, citing higher costs for fuel, steel and labor. Congress approved the $400 million and the Bush administration believes it now has enough money to finish the fence.

The Sept. 11 terrorist 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 country.

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" using surveillance technology. The administration has met its goal of adding 6,000 new agents to the Border Patrol force by the end of this year, bringing the total to about 18,000.

Boeing Co. has the contract for the technology portion of the fence, as well as for some construction work. The company's contract for the technology expires in 2009.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... AD954375O3

What isn't mentioned is Obama voted for the fence prior to the 06 election but opposed funding for it. Typical election ploy.
Border patrol told us the virtual fence is a failure. Sensors and cameras are constantly out of service sometimes for months at a time, much of it caused by vandalism from illegal aliens shooting and throwing rocks and other objects at cameras and sensors. Agents also say they constantly apprehend hundreds of illegal aliens miles north of sections of the virtual fence. As a front line communications equipment maintainer during Desert Shield/Storm I speak from experience when I say equipment subject to the temperature extremes, sandstorms and other realities of the harsh desert environment will fail.
Anyone want to bet the first thing Obama will do after taking the oath of office is hire illegal aliens and LaRaza to dismantle the entire fence; not that there would be that much to dismantle anyway.......

i have to see pics of 500 miles of fence before im going to believe it.

how much of this " fence " is nothing more than the rails three feet high to stop the vehicles?

Put the fence crews on overtime and get as much fence built as possible before Obama can stop it.

Originally Posted by jamesw62

i have to see pics of 500 miles of fence before im going to believe it.

how much of this " fence " is nothing more than the rails three feet high to stop the vehicles?

245 Miles of pedestrian fence.

200 miles of vehicle fence.

http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm

The headline should be:

600 miles of border fence to be completed before Obama can stop it.

I don't trust either Chertoff or the Associated Press's reporting on this issue. This is what Rep. Lamar Smith said just the other day. I trust his figure over the AP and Chertoff:

More recently, in 2006, Congress called on the administration to secure the border with more than 850 miles of fencing along the southwest border. To date, only 375 miles of fencing have been constructed. Of that, only 218 miles are built to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the border on foot; the rest are vehicle barriers.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/200 ... migration/

I don't trust them either.

Show us some pictures of the fence. Bet it is flimsy looking in places esp if they built it that fast.

Originally Posted by jean

I don't trust them either.

Show us some pictures of the fence. Bet it is flimsy looking in places esp if they built it that fast.

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Thank you for the links JohnDoe2.

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