Homeland Security Fence Act Approved For Mexico
Border in Oct 2006. Timeline and Results
October 6, 2006 - On a campaign stop in Arizona, Bush said, "unfortunately, the
United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and, therefore,
illegal immigration has been on the rise," Bush said, "We have a responsibility
to address these challenges. We have a responsibility to enforce our laws. We have
a responsibility to secure our borders.
October 26, 2006 - President Bush signed the $34.8 billion Department of Homeland Security
spending bill. The legislation includes nearly 1.2 billion-dollars in funding for the
Secure Fence Act to strengthen the border with Mexico, including 700 miles of new fencing
along the border with Mexico. Instead of referring to the 700-mile barrier, Bush
highlighted the $1.2 billion that Congress provided for an unspecified blend of fencing,
vehicle barriers, lighting and technology such as ground-based radar, cameras and sensors.
No sooner did Congress authorize construction of a 700-mile fence on the
U.S.-Mexico border than lawmakers rushed to approve separate legislation that ensures it
will never be built,
at least not as advertised, according to Republican lawmakers and immigration experts.
June 6, 2007 - 8 months after the Fence Act was implimented roughly 13 miles of a Mexican
border fence approved last year have been built. Over 4,000 people including: smugglers,
drug dealers and terrorists from all countries are crossing the southern border illegally
every day.
Congress hedged on when a fence would be completed. The law mandating it said Homeland
Security officials should gain "operational control" of the border in 18 months.
But the law funding it envisions five years. Chertoff has set a goal of two to three
years, but only after completion of an immigration overhaul
Congress withheld $950 million of the $1.2 billion, pending a breakdown by Chertoff of how
he plans to spend the money.
Asked whether Homeland Security would build 700 miles of fence, department spokesman Russ
Knocke would not say. Instead, he noted that department leaders will spend $67 million to
test a remote-sensing "virtual fence" concept on a 28-mile, high-traffic stretch
of border south of Tucson over eight months, and then adjust their plans.
Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz., told the associated press, "You show me a 50-foot
wall and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder at the border. That's the way the border
works." DemocRats have used that line over and over again. The liberal news refuses
to ask any of them this question. "If illegals carried 51 foot ladders through the
desert and scaled the wall, do you think it would slow down the 4,000 who illegal cross
the open border daily to a trickle?
Mexican officials recruited various church and business groups in the U.S. to oppose
fencing plans, and the government broadcast radio ads encouraging workers who have had a
labor "accident" to pursue their rights to sue in the U.S. |
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