Posted on 02/25/2006 11:21:16 PM PST by SmithL
A proposal to build a double set of steel walls with floodlights, surveillance cameras and motion detectors along one-third of the U.S.-Mexican border heads to the Senate next month after winning overwhelming support in the House. The wall would be intended to prevent illegal immigrants and potential terrorists from hiking across the southern border into the United States. It would run along five segments of the 1,952-mile border that now experience the most illegal crossings.
The plan already has roiled diplomatic relations with Mexico. Leaders in American border communities are saying it will damage local economies and the environment. And immigration experts say that -- at a cost of at least $2.2 billion -- the 700-mile wall would be an expensive boondoggle.
The December House vote of 260-159 is the strongest endorsement yet for building a wall, which Rep. Duncan Hunter, a San Diego County Republican, has been pushing for two decades as a tactic against illegal immigration. Support for the wall was even stronger than for the bill it was attached to -- a larger plan to curb terrorism and illegal immigration sponsored by Wisconsin Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner that passed 239 to 182.
"It is a tangible demonstration of the seriousness of the United States in not permitting illegal migration into the country," said Jack Martin, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C., that favors tighter immigration controls.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Can't help myself. A fence on the border would keep out real, dangerous aliens, not just imaginary green men.
As for Israel, you had better stay way from their security fence. You had better not try to mess with it. Twice in the last month Israel has fired missiles at Paleostinians who approached it. Four dead
This is great, but it would probably be the first of second bill Bush would veto during his Presidency.
Agree 101%!
But neither the dems or the Republicans want to insult the Mexicans. I read a good article posted on another thread titled the second Mexican revolution.
Illegals should be trained by the Marines to go out there and fight for OUR Country since they get so much and pay back nothing for the benefits they recieve in this Country. If not why not? Because they are Mexican nationals.....hmmm than why are they treated better than our Citizens?
If a "worker-program" translated to a program where companies large or small had too request foreign workers for a project or a very limited time and were responsible for the care,feeding,transportation to and fro than maybe that would work and it certainly would prove there is no such thing as jobs Americans wouldn't do. Or is it jobs Americans want and DESERVE to get paid a fair wage for??
But this worker program that isn't an amnesty program :::wink, wink:: is outrageous as the Dubai port security for national security problems!!
How much money do illegals cost in social services? Build the wall - enough said.
I'd be happy if the Marines trained the illegals to fight for their country. Take it back from the drug dealers.
"Could we have a minefield between the double walls, please?"
Excellent idea. Wish I'd thought of that one...
This wall will more than pay for itself in any number of ways. It is a perfect example of a good investment. Which is why I'm having a truly hard time believing that it could get approved by this Congress, which usually prefers to throw money into ratholes. And if Bush signs it, I may slip into a catatonic state from the shock.
"Walls , fences and border controls like this are going to become more and more the rule throughout the world as time goes by. There will come a time when we cannot imagine not having such border protections. The world has become too wild and dangerous of a place to leave wide open borders , especially when we now have the technology to do them right.
Let just do and get it over with , and ps: NO GAPS !"
That time seems to be approaching pretty rapidly-especially since the new proposal of cluing the Arabs in, by farming out OUR ports to them. To think that anybody cares about U.S. security except the U.S. is just pure greed and stupidity...
Well, there is always the possibility that he is right, being that he was a general and all. However, nobody's words are going to convince me that anyone other than loyal U.S. citizens are qualified to have access(in any shape or form)to our ports, or any part of America, most especially after 9-11.
Well, that's exactly what I don't trust. Blunders are more likely to occur, when such a huge majority of boxes, containers, and crates, are not inspected. And isn't a crazed idiot more likely to ship hazardous items into carefully calculated areas where lame inspection standards exist? This is a totally ridiculous situation. Every single item that comes into the states should be inspected, regardless of the time involved. But it doesn't seem like it will happen because it's, "just too much work for the fat and sassy in the U.S.".
somehow I do not think that the UAE deal is going to affect that much one way or another , that's a DHS deal.
However an efficiently run port operation may facilitate
more thorough and organized inspections?
Well, they're gonna do whatever they do, regardless of what I say. However, I am leary of Mr. Chertoff and his ambitions. And I am also leary of UAE, because they will obviously have access to information otherwise unavailable to them did they not have any affiliation with our ports. They will likely behave themselves for a while,(all the time accumulating whatever info. possible) then they may act up at any time and side with any terrorist group of their choosing and it will likely be too late for the U.S. and we'll then be at their mercy. And we all know, terrorists have no mercy.
Well, that does seem to be the only way Bush can pull himself out of this one. And using Mecca and Medina would go right to the heart of of it all. I'd bet they'd have the entire Arab and terrorist population saying, "Oh, no, not Mecca and Medina, we just can't go on without those precious little places of worship." I think, in the past, them folks just had a conniption fit when those places were bothered. Anyway, those terrorists are just ugly little thugs, who respect nothing except a show of force.
Travis, I have no idea where your top picture of the barb wire fence on the border was taken, mostly because it looks just like most of the border that I have seen across NM and Arizona. I wish we had the number of miles the fence looks like that or worse, it would probably amaze those who don't live near the border to know that there are miles and miles and miles just like that and worse. I really think all the Senators that are going to be asked to vote on the fence need that photo and the number of miles the fence looks like that.
That would have to be a pretty effective statement.
If there is no actual number we can find I bet those of us that live on the border could come up with a pretty close estimate. Hubby and I were just talking about it and he estimates at least 170 miles of border fence through NM is fence like that, maybe worse in some spots, but not any that is better.
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