The fence has been under construction since 1993. Lawsuits and environmental regulations have stalled completion of the final 3.5 miles, which go through a tidal estuary next to the Pacific Ocean. Last fall, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff used his authority to waive some legal requirements that were bogging down the process.
The government says that about $39 million has been spent on the project so far, though some critics think that's a conservative figure. The Department of Homeland Security expects to spend an additional $35 million to finish the last leg of the fence. The Border Patrol, though, says the cost could be higher.
Q: What kind of security measures does it employ?
The 14-mile project is actually a double- and triple-fence. The first fence was built with surplus military airplane landing mats that were welded together. The second fence is called Sandia fencing, because it was developed at the government's Sandia National Laboratories. It's steel mesh, 15 feet high, with the top part slanted inward. In high-traffic areas, there's a third chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. In between the first two fences is a 150-foot "no man's land." The Border Patrol uses that area to station vehicles. There are also light towers, and remote video-surveillance cameras are being installed even as I write. Security is augmented by helicopters and hundreds of ground-based Border Patrol agents.
Some areas use closely spaced concrete pillars instead of steel mesh for the second fence. And the last 150 yards or so -- leading into the sea -- is made of steel pillars sunk into the sand.
Duncan Hunter is one of the 5 congressmen for San Diego.
It is his legislation that created building new fence and extending it.
I live here and this is part of our local news besides it being national news.
Get a clue and don’t embarrass yourself with posts that don’t have complete facts.
HUNTER INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO REINSTATE SECURE FENCE ACT
January 23, 2008
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), author of the fencing provisions included in the Secure Fence Act, introduced legislation in the House of Representatives today that requires the construction of double-layered fencing along America’s Southern land border within 6 months. The legislation reinstates the provisions of the Secure Fence Act that were amended under the recently enacted FY2008 omnibus spending bill.
“Securing our Southern land border remains one of our nation’s greatest priorities,” said Congressman Hunter. “When the Secure Fence Act was enacted more than one year ago, the American people were pleased to see that the necessary steps were finally being taken to secure the dangerous and problematic smuggling corridors that exist along our border with Mexico. Instead of adhering to the law and building the prescribed fencing, the Department of Homeland Security began to immediately retreat from the mandates of the bill, indicating its intention to only build 370 miles of fence and not the required 700 miles.
“More recently, provisions were included in the omnibus spending bill that eliminated the most substantive provisions of the Secure Fence Act, including the requirement that fencing be double-layered and extend 700 miles across the Southern land border. The omnibus spending bill dismantles the only legislative advancement made in recent years towards securing our border with Mexico, and represents a prescription for failure that directly threatens the safety, security and prosperity of the American people.
“Today, DHS has built approximately 75 miles of new fence along the border, of which only 5 miles is double-layered. The Secure Fence Act was clear in that it required double-layered fencing, separated by a road for Border Patrol vehicles, extending over 700 miles of land border. Yet DHS continues to believe that single-layered fencing, vehicle barriers and virtual fencing are adequate and reliable enforcement mechanisms. The reality is that single-layered fencing and vehicle barriers do little, if anything, to stop illegal immigration and the virtual alternative being aggressively pursued by DHS remains ineffective and unusable.
“The legislation I am introducing today reinstates the most important elements of the Secure Fence, which were wrongly amended under the omnibus spending bill. If we truly hope to bring some sense of security to our Southern land border, then we must begin building the appropriate infrastructure in the timeliest manner possible. I look forward to working with my colleagues over the coming months to correct this legislative error.”
More specifically, the legislation would:
Mandate the construction of at least 700 miles of new double-layered border fencing in locations determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, within 6 months of the bill’s enactment;
Eliminate problematic “consultation” language included in the omnibus appropriations bill that potentially opened fence construction to endless challenges.
Since being introduced, the legislation has been referred to the House Homeland Security Committee for further consideration.
February 11, 2008
...Although the authority of the secretary of Homeland Security to build a fence along the border has not been rescinded, it has been made clear that most of the new fence will be single-layered and extend no more than 370 miles. During the past year, for instance, only 77 miles of fencing has been built, of which five miles is double-layered.
This lack of progress is disconcerting, particularly when considering that the Department of Homeland Security has received more than $2 billion for border infrastructure.
It is for these reasons that I introduced the Reinstate the Secure Fence Act in the House of Representatives. My legislation restores the most substantive elements of the Secure Fence Act, requiring 700 miles of fencing be constructed within six months of the bill’s enactment. If we truly hope to bring some sense of security to our southern border, then we must begin building the appropriate infrastructure in the timeliest manner possible.
April 1, 2008
HUNTER COMMENDS DECISION TO BUILD BORDER FENCE
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), author of the waiver authority provision in the REAL ID Act of 2005 and border fence mandate enacted under the Secure Fence Act, commended the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to waive all laws impeding fence construction on the U.S. – Mexico border.
DHS intends to exercise its authority to bypass more than 30 laws and regulations preventing the completion of 267 miles of security fencing along America’s Southern land border.
“I commend the Department of Homeland Security for taking this important and necessary step,” said Congressman Hunter. “This action will ensure the continuation of fence construction along our border with Mexico, which is in our national interest.
“The infamous ‘Smugglers Gulch’ location in San Diego, California, is a good example of just how bureaucratic and environmental regulations can impede border fence construction. Smugglers Gulch, which lent itself to the movement of large quantities of cocaine and marijuana, was kept open by extreme environmental groups for more than six years.
“Today’s action addresses the myriad of obstacles that have delayed the construction of fencing across Smugglers Gulch and other dangerous regions along the border. Since Secretary Chertoff applied his waiver authority to Smugglers Gulch, the contract to complete this three mile stretch of border has been awarded and fence construction is expected to commence in May of this year.
“The experience of six years of delay has been instructive and the Smugglers Gulch experience is one that the Department of Homeland Security does not want to relive. The decision to remove these roadblocks is the absolute right decision.
“The next step is to ensure that the construction of fencing in these new locations involves double-layered fencing, which has proven to be effective at trapping smugglers attempting to cross into the United States.”