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Should the US build a border fence on the southern border with Mexico?
Results so far:
| No | 42% | 204 votes | Total: 485 votes | |
| Yes | 58% | 281 votes |
No
by Cynthia Moreno
Created on: December 01, 2010 Last Updated: December 02, 2010
In the past few years there has been a very aggressive debate about a border fence on the southern border. The border fence is going to be a waste of time and money that the taxpayers do not have and this does not even take into consideration the considerable damage to the environment that such a fence would cause. The fence is not going to stop anyone, because what has already happened is we find tunnels, the drug traffickers do not go over the fence, they go under it. Global Security.org stated that over 40 tunnels under the border had been built between 2001 and 2006.
Our southern border is 1,952 miles long and the fence would have to span the entire length of the border to be even partially effective. Most estimates put the cost of the fence from $3-3.8 million a mile, but the fence in California has already cost as much as $11 million a mile. All of this cost does not include acquiring land that will have to be taken from ranch owners that have owned their properties sometimes for several generations nor does it include manpower, labor to build the fence or maintenance. Some estimates are as high as $50 billion just to build the fence.
The virtual fence project has been abandoned already by the Obama administration and for good reason, in under 60 miles they had already spent $1 billion for the demonstration and the fence had several technical difficulties. It was probably a good thing that they abandoned this already failing project, because Homeland Security inspector general reported in December that since 1998, the Department of Homeland Security and the former Immigration and Naturalization Service spent $429 million on video and remote surveillance on the borders. Yet, nearly half of 489 cameras were never installed, 60 percent of sensor alerts are never investigated, 90 percent of the rest are false alarms, and only 1 percent overall resulted in arrests.
The environmental damage to the border areas has been tremendous and native tribes that have been in the area are concerned about the damage to fauna, increase in flooding and the disturbance of endangered species in the border areas. A fence cuts off migration routes and cuts of ranchers and farmers access to water. Up to 75% of protected land and refuges would be affected by the fence and the DHS has exempted themselves from all environmental protections including clean water. The fence cuts off the Rio Grande and without this water the ranchers and farmers will lose everything they have. It is the only water access in the area. The fence would cut through a Texas university leaving part of it in Mexico cut off from the American side and would leave dozens of houses in Texas alone in a no man´s land between the border. Tribal lands of three American Indian nations would be divided by fencing.
The facts are we cannot throw money into a project that at most will have only symbolic value. We don´t have the billions of dollars to spend on a fence when in other countries similar fences have already failed. Spain built a fence along their border and it did not stop illegal immigration into the country. We would be better to invest in addressing what causes illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is caused by a variety of things, economic issues, the increasingly violent drug war, the chance to get a job and to be joined with family already in the US. Half of all illegal immigrants in the US would not be affected by anything we do at either border, because they come in legally and overstay their visa. Our main goal should be not focusing on the immigrants themselves but employers who are inside the US.
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Yes
by Petra Sando
Created on: November 03, 2007
"Illegal immigration" has been verbally turned into "migration" by the head of our government and armed Mexican military has reportedly been spotted less than 200 yards from our border. The Mexican president Vicente Fox has repeatedly encouraged countrymen to come to the U.S. while denying that there is a serious problem with illegal immigration. We are being invaded, and the plans to forge the United States, Mexico and Canada into one big region called the "Americanas", and the fact that a new general currency in planning has been named the "Amero" worries me beyond belief!
I strongly believe that there is only one way to protect our country from invasion, without "forcing" the government to come up with new unjustifiable bills and laws trying to integrate illegal immigrants with good law-abiding U.S. citizens while pushing the United States into even greater debt and submitting our American people to all kinds of great economic hardships.
And that is by protecting the borders in every which way possible!
This is mostly wishful thinking, but it would definitely do the trick:
1. Not only should there be one fence on the southern border with Mexico, topped with several rows of barbed wire, but two. The second one should be entirely covered in barbed wire to discourage climbing it once the illegal immigrants encounter specially trained guard dogs, protected against shooters by special Kevlar armor. That is to suggest there is only one way to escape the blood thirsty dogs - go back to Mexico and get a Visa!
3. For those bold enough to get past the dogs and the second fence, there needs to be a minefield to deter those who dare to invade our country.
4. Since there is a chance that someone is lucky enough to miss the land mines, following the minefield, we need a ditch about 15 feet wide, densely populated with poisonous snakes, scorpions and spiders to not only fuel some of the natural human fears, but also cause serious harm to those who get bitten or stung by those critters. Since they occur naturally in desert regions, this will be a relatively low-cost protection.
5. Lastly, there should be a high wall reinforced with search towers every 2 miles, manned by expert snipers and protected by heavily armed military patrols pacing on the U.S. side of the border.
6. Since we are now protected on the ground, there should also be several immediately deployable fighter jets and black hawk helicopters standing by near the border; just in case of an attack or invasion by air.
7. The entire border should be under satellite surveillance at all times to alert the United States border patrols of any intrusions.
8. There should be a maximum of three narrow ports of entries, long corridors, well protected by armed guards and numerous check points with metal detectors, x-ray machines and drug search dogs. Only those people, who have followed the legal process of applying for and being approved for an Immigrant Visa or Visitor's Visa are to be allowed to enter into our beloved United States of America after passing all mandatory inspections. Those who try to breach the checkpoints illegally are to be immediately deported back to Mexico with a restriction that does not allow them to apply for a Visa again for several years. If it happens twice they forfeit the opportunity to get a Visa and enter into the United States for good. We need to make sure once again that we are a country not to be messed with and reinforce our standpoint without wavering!
That's how I feel about building a fence on the southern border with Mexico. Some of my ideas above may seem a bit exaggerated. But even if there is nothing but one huge fence with watch towers and armed patrols, ready to shoot, along with satellite surveillance and the idea of limiting ports of entries to just three heavily secured narrow corridors - just make it happen!
(Please note: this article was written by a legal immigrant who came to the states in 1997, after following all the rules, and pledged allegiance to the U.S. surrendering German citizenship to become an American citizen - yours truly!)
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