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  1. #1
    Senior Member Populist's Avatar
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    Border fence progress is negligible

    Surpise, surprise!
    -------------------------------

    Border fence progress is negligible
    Los Angeles Times
    By Richard Marosi, Times Staff Writer

    SAN DIEGO -- Nearly a year after Congress passed legislation calling for the construction of 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, about 15 miles have been built, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

    Some Republicans and anti-illegal immigration groups in recent days have criticized the lack of progress, but DHS -- which had committed to erecting 70 miles of fencing by Sept. 30 -- says the project is back on track after being slowed by environmental concerns, contractor hiring and design issues.

    Workers are scheduled to break ground next week on a seven-mile stretch southwest of Tucson, Ariz.; work on the remainder of a 37-mile barrier outside Yuma, Ariz., is continuing as well.

    Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. , a longtime fence backer, said in a letter to President Bush last week: This lack of progress is unacceptable, especially when adequate funding is available to earnestly proceed with fence construction.

    Bush signed the Secure Fence Act last autumn in hopes that bolstered enforcement would lead the then-Republican-led Congress to pass a broader immigration overhaul.

    Opponents noted that the legislation came during an election year when many lawmakers expressed skepticism about the fence idea, but didn't want to be vulnerable to attacks for being soft on border enforcement.

    "It was an election year political gimmick. People knew that it was more about symbolism than about reality," said Tamar Jacoby, a Manhattan Institute policy analyst who supports immigration reform.

    The act calls for new fencing in five areas along the 1,952-mile southern border. The longest stretch -- from east of Calexico, Calif., to Douglas, Ariz. -- would extend about 300 miles. Other large segments would be built along the Rio Grande in Texas. Including fencing that was up before the law passed, there are about 90 miles, most of it in California.

    The White House has said the border cannot be controlled with fencing alone, insisting that vehicle barriers, improved sensor equipment, camera towers and more agents must be added to the formula.

    Homeland Security has set out a timetable that calls for 300 miles of new fencing and 150 miles of vehicle barriers to be in place by the end of 2008. Congress allocated $1.2 billion for border infrastructure improvements this year, and the administration has requested another $1 billion for next year.

    But construction couldn't begin, federal officials said, until more effective fencing could be designed, contractors hired and environmental issues addressed. Outside Yuma, for instance, the fencing is being built with small holes to allow a native species, the horned lizard, to move freely across the border. The government also has met with ranchers and local lawmakers opposed to the plan.

    The administration has made the decision to address local land concerns and environmental concerns to the extent that they can. ... "It slows the process down, but we're still committed to getting it done. Ultimately, the goal is to secure the border," said Brad Benson, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, the agency responsible for building the fence.

    The plan calls for much of the fencing to be built by the National Guard. But with the administration reducing the number of guard troops on the border by half, to 3,000, by October, labor could be in short supply. And the recent reassignment of about 100 Border Patrol agents to fence-building work might not be enough, anti-illegal immigration forces say.

    To immigration reform advocates, however, the lack of progress is a hopeful sign that the fencing might never be completed.

    "It's just absolutely wrong. The fence is not going to stop anything," said Enrique Morones, president of the Border Angels, a San Diego-based immigrant rights group. "I think people really do realize that it is not the solution. ... It's extremely expensive and it's not effective."

    http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... &cset=true
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  2. #2
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    What would be 'effective' is our federal government enforcing immigration laws.

    I do agree, the fence is not the only solution but still needed to help the border patrol do their job.

    Seriously going after employers is what is needed most but we still need the fence.

    Protecting our borders should be one of the main functions of our federal government which they have failed miserably.

    I dread to think about the OTM's who have come over especially under Bush's watch.
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  3. #3
    Senior Member Populist's Avatar
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    Yes, the fence is not the only solution, but an important part of the solution. And if the Bush administration did live up to its word and legal obligations and build the 854 miles of fencing, it would be tangible evidence that they are finally getting serious about border enforcement.

    But I doubt it. Bush will just stall, claim "roadblocks", blame the Dems etc. and rely on techno-fencing, berms, single-layred fencing for what they do build. I hope I'm wrong, but....
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