WASHINGTON - A House Republican wants to build a fence along the entire 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, a plan that could cost billions of dollars and one that critics say would do little to stop illegal immigration.
California Rep. Duncan Hunter (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, plans to introduce legislation that would create a two-layer reinforced fence with lighting and sensors from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, a 100-yard border zone to the north of the barriers and 25 new ports of entry.
Currently, most of the westernmost 14-mile stretch of the border is lined with parallel fencing. There is secure fencing at other vulnerable points, but long stretches of the border are protected only by patchy barbed wire or nothing at all.
"Illegal aliens continue to funnel directly into many of our local communities and adversely impact our way of life by overwhelming our schools, inundating our health care system and, most concerning, threatening our safety," said Hunter, who was working on the bill with Rep. Virgil Goode (news, bio, voting record), R-Va.
He said building a fence and enforcing immigration laws could reverse the trends.
A conservative group called Let Freedom Ring that is promoting a border fence estimates it would cost about $8 billion.
Republican Gov. Bill Owens of Colorado recently announced his support for the project, but Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, has said he does not think a fence would stop illegal immigration.
Groups including National Council of La Raza, the largest U.S.-based Hispanic advocacy group, oppose a fence.
"It doesn't really deal with why people are migrating or why our economy is so dependent on their labor," said Cecilia Munoz, the group's vice president of policy. "The resourcefulness of people on both sides of the border is likely to be greater than a fence."
Electrify the fences, and then I might be interested in reading about it.
Yes doctor, I am sick. Sick of those who are spineless. Sick of those who feel self-entitled. Sick of those who are hypocrites. Yes doctor, an army is forming. Yes doctor, there will be a war. Yes doctor, there will be blood.....
I think we should fence the Canadian one also .. it will cut back on all of those Canadian hippies that keep squating on our land. Even better, lets electrocute it.
The billions in upfront costs will easily be recouped in saved social service costs over time in present value terms. I like that the proposal includes tons of official new entry points.
I'm all for letting an unlimited number of people enter the coutry and stay forever and become citizens who are not murderers, rapists, etc. It's like asking people to ring my doorbell instead of jimmying open a window and expecting me not to be pissed off.
RugbyD wrote:The billions in upfront costs will easily be recouped in saved social service costs over time in present value terms. I like that the proposal includes tons of official new entry points.
I'm all for letting an unlimited number of people enter the coutry and stay forever and become citizens who are not murderers, rapists, etc. It's like asking people to ring my doorbell instead of jimmying open a window and expecting me not to be pissed off.
You really think that a fence would stop illegal immigration? Or at the very least reduce it enough to justify the billion dollar price tag?
How is this any different from SF banning guns to control crime?
Building a fence won't stop immigration... most of the illegals that get into the country today are hopping over fences that are already in place near Mexican cities on the border.
I don't really have any answers though. We could turn America into Jurassic Park, with electrified fences and holding pens, but look what happened there... they still got out.
So, hold onto your butts.
If you're a battery, you're either working or you're dead....
RugbyD wrote:The billions in upfront costs will easily be recouped in saved social service costs over time in present value terms. I like that the proposal includes tons of official new entry points.
I'm all for letting an unlimited number of people enter the coutry and stay forever and become citizens who are not murderers, rapists, etc. It's like asking people to ring my doorbell instead of jimmying open a window and expecting me not to be pissed off.
You really think that a fence would stop illegal immigration? Or at the very least reduce it enough to justify the billion dollar price tag?
They aren't proposing a plain old chain link fence. That's already up in many places and of course does nothing. I don't think their plan alone is the solution, but the massive problems illegals cause in border states can't be ignored and the current plan is no plan at all.
President Bush has actually advocated loosening immigration restrictions and has gone so far as to suggest that illegals are taking jobs that "Americans don't want." The truth is, American companies are welcoming illegal immigrant labor because it is cheap and illegally saves them money on taxes.
I think that if we cracked down on companies hiring illegal immigrants, there will less of an incentive for them to come to this country.
If you're a battery, you're either working or you're dead....
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by Pogotheostrich » Thu Nov 10, 2005 12:00 pm 
