AZ goes to people to 'take back our country'
Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 8/1/2011 4:25:00 AM

An immigration expert and border enforcement advocate applauds the efforts of an Arizona state lawmaker who has devised an innovative way to increase border security.

Illegal immigration is not just an Arizona problem; it's an American problem. And that is why the state hopes others throughout the country will donate to the nation's security by sending money to erect a fence along the 370-mile border of Arizona and Mexico.

Lawmakers recently approved the project, and state Senator Steve Smith (R), who sponsored the legislation, hopes donors will help raise $50 million for the effort.

Jessica Vaughan is a former foreign service officer of the U.S. State Department who now serves as director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). She says fences have already made a difference in places like San Diego and El Paso.

"People cannot simply mass over the border every night the way they used to do near San Diego," she reports. "There are some roadways near El Paso that used to be considered the most dangerous places to drive in the entire country. They put up a fence, and all that went away. [It's] like they've taken back our country in parts of those areas."

But more fencing is needed because portions of the Arizona border have become war zones.

"The conditions that these people have to tolerate, and they're American citizens just trying to live their lives on their own property, and now, it's become a war zone and a crime zone," Vaughan laments.

In fact, Senator Smith has already identified three high-traffic areas that would be prime locations to erect a fence.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Security/Defa ... id=1401744