Thread: FARMER REP. SAM GRAVES CALLS FOR REAL FENCE!

"I know if I put up a virtual fence on my farm, it wouldn't keep any cattle in," Graves said. "It wouldn't work at all."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5648541.html

Lawmaker calls for real fence on border, not a 'virtual' one


By ROB HOTAKAINEN
McClatchy-Tribune



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WASHINGTON — As a farmer, Rep. Sam Graves says, he knows a thing or two about fences. And the Missouri Republican says he knows this for sure: It makes no sense to try to keep out illegal immigrants by building a "virtual fence" on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Standing in front of an iron fence Tuesday at a fence company in Kansas City, Mo., Graves called on Congress to pass a bill that would force the Department of Homeland Security to scrap its high-tech virtual fence and build a real fence instead.

"I know if I put up a virtual fence on my farm, it wouldn't keep any cattle in," Graves said. "It wouldn't work at all."

Graves introduced the bill, called the Real Fence Act, earlier this month.

The congressman also has signed a petition that would force a vote in the House of Representatives on a separate bill that would add 8,000 Border Patrol agents and increase the size of the federal judiciary to deal with illegal immigrants.

IEarlier this month, the Bush administration outlined plans to begin operating portions of a virtual fence along the Southwestern border later this year. The DHS disputed news reports that a 28-mile pilot project to test the technology was a failure.

Top officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that they were on track to complete hundreds of miles of traditional fencing by the end of this year. But they acknowledged that disputes with Texas landowners could endanger their timetable.

Story last updated at 3/26/2008 - 12:20 pm
Congressman wants fence on Mexican border

By Jeff Martin

Congressman Sam Graves, R-6th District, visited Guier Fence in Blue Springs Tuesday afternoon - not to shop, but to support his bill to stop funding for a failed pilot project to build a "virtual fence" protecting the country's Mexican border.

"Congress passed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 that required 700 miles of fencing," Graves said at an appearance at Guier Fence in Blue Springs. "It's unacceptable that more than two years later we only have 300 miles completed with an actual fence."

Grave's told a small gathering at the Blue Springs business that a 28-mile pilot project south of Tucson, Ariz., a virtual fence, had failed, and now the Department of Homeland Security wants to delay the program three years while it works out technical glitches.

"There are some areas along the border where illegal immigrants are literally streaming in," Graves said. "That's unacceptable, and it puts our nation at risk."

"Having a wide open border makes it all too easy for illegal immigrants to cross into this country," he said. "It's a security threat."

Graves spoke about the number of border guards, which have doubled since 2001. But the lack of a fence concerns him. Graves said taxpayers are entitled to see the 700 miles of fencing finished.

"Taxpayers demand to get the best value for their money," he said.

Graves' legislation, unveiled Tuesday, is H.R. 5568 and has been referred to the Committee on Homeland Security.

Graves faces an election this year, where he is expected to face Democrat Kay Barnes, a former Kansas City mayor. Democrat Ali Allon Sherkat of Riverside, Mo., and Libertarian Dave Browning of Oak Grove also are running for the seat.


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