Divided views as US fence goes up

Divided views as US fence goes up

news.bbc.co.uk

there is one area of immigration policy that is proceeding, despite the political stalemate: the building of the border fence between the US and Mexico.

Hundreds of kilometres are under construction along the US's southern frontier.

Estimates for the cost of the project have ranged from $2bn to $10bn (£1bn to £5bn).

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is just diabolical.

Do they really think a fence will keep anyone out?
What if it is really the start of keeping people in?

With America facing a possible tough time with the value of its dollar, why is this serious waste of cash, manpower and materials being carried out?

I can see many people taking up pole vaulting or becoming mining engineers. And if the recent breach of the barrier in Egypt is anything to go by, then i hold little hope for this 'little boys tantrum' of a fence.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think I read an article that stated that the fence was going to be 40 ft tall.

If so, then it will be hard to scale. Also, my guess is that it will probably be buried a few feet at the bottom as well.

a fence would help the way it is now they just walk across at will .the us has had gang drug related wars starting to cross the borders automatic weapons hand gernades execution type killings taking place. border patrol agents are being out guned by mexican drug runners and having to flee. so if you dont think we need a fence then why dont you just hang out on the border to mexico yourself for a while and bring your flake jacket with you.

Pretty expensive for a fence.

Maybe they should hire illegals and get the job done cheaper, otherwise they just might end up with the Big Fence (borrowing from the Big Dig)

Hey guys, over there in good ol usa, ever think that maybe and just maybe its being constructed to keep people IN

Don't forget the germans when they faced the Maginot Line!

They came against it and couldn't get though.

So, what did they do?


They went round the sides!

It's not going to keep people out.

A border fence will certainly be better than nothing.

It has been proven to work not only in Israel, but on at least one section that I know of right in San Diego, I believe it was. Penetration was reduced in this case by 90%.

As they start to close the gaps along the border, it becomes quite effective for the reason that it forces any subsequent attempts at crossing to more focal points the agents can watch. As the fence grows, these focal points become less and less, giving the ability of agents to consolidate more and concentrate on fewer areas. With a 90% fence in place, this reduces the number of agents needed to guard the ground border substantially, and what forces are left can be very concentrated and highly effective.

Expensive? Compare the protection of our border with what we are spending overseas. Peanuts by comparison.

As to "keeping us in" well, as a person who has traveled outside the country, even with all our problems- there's no place like home.

I can see how a coast to coast fence will reduce the areas to be patrolled.

The only places left to cross would be the sea, unless you fly. When it comes to the coastguard doing their job there, they may have some problems with a few thousand swimmers and a couple hundred boats all swarming through the same bit of ocean at the same time.

If anyone gets co-ordinated enough they will conquer and no matter how high or long a fence is there will always be a way of getting past it.

The idea of the fence will reduce the amount of guards along the length of it and that is a weakness in itself.

Originally posted by Extralien
The idea of the fence will reduce the amount of guards along the length of it and that is a weakness in itself.

Not necessarily, if appropriate electronic surveillance is put into place, and I believe that is part of the plan. That's one place I don't mind cameras, just as if it was my own property. I don't think we complain too much about the right to be able to protect one's property with cameras and other means if so desired.

Penn and Teller did a BS episode in which they paid a bunch of illegals to build a fence similar to what is expected at the border. Then they had them pair up and try to go over, under, and through. They all succeeded, but surprisingly the team that went through the fence won. Less than 5 minutes each.

The episode can be found here. Warning: strong language.

Even if their argument can be picked apart it's still really, really funny to watch.

I don't see how a fence is going to stop anyone from getting here.

Where there is a will, there's a way.

We actually were discussing a similar topic today in class: homelessness. You can build a fence around your house in hopes a homeless person(s) will not come in, but in all honesty its only a deterrent.

What is going to stop someone from A). blasting a hole through the fence B). climbing over it/under it or C). enlisting the help of border patrol agents from Mexico/US.

Smuggling persons across the border is not all that difficult and there's no way in hell this line is going to be foolproof.

This is just another huge waste of taxpayer money and another chance for some dollars to go missing into a bureaucrats pockets...

[edit on 2/1/2008 by biggie smalls]

reply to post by Extralien


Mine the fence, thicken the walls by 5 feet or more, 20 feet deep ditch, tons of barb wire, automatic machine guns, guards, dogs, etc. It will make the Korean DMZ look like a backyard.

reply to post by deltaboy


Yes and you will be behind the wall...

Sounds a lot like East Germany, walling in the civilians...

Why do we want to keep people out so badly?

Why don't we actually improve the quality of life in Central and South America so people won't have to immigrate here? Wow, that's a novel idea ain't it..

Which means we have to get the World Bank out of there as its causing several nations into a debt spiral. Venezuela paid off its debt and now they're doing great.

What a coincidence, eh?

Its not being built to keep people in, if they want people to stay in, they'd build it on border with Canada, right?

Rather than a real solution, the fence is a band aid pandering to whomever actually support it. It also smells of kickbacks to construction companies that donate big $$$$$

It will not really do alot to stop Illegal immigration. it may slow the amount of time it takes to make border crossing, but I doubt it will have any real impact on numbers

reply to post by biggie smalls


I can afford to take a flight. Or go through legal checkpoints.

reply to post by Techsnow


I'm sure that is part 2 to the grand scheme of our politicians.

"Those damn Canuks are coming in from the North and we need to keep them out."

Next it'll be the Oceans which are causing problems.

"Now we need to wall off the water to keep everyone safe from the sharks and seagulls."

reply to post by Extralien


It's interesting to note that the Bushes have bought a lot of land in South America. What's really going on?

reply to post by biggie smalls


Escape from New York except on a country scale.

Again, deltaboy its a bandaid and a damm poor one at that. It does nothing to solve the problem. And they will go over under around and through the wall. May take longer but it will do nothing to reduce the numbers or stem the tide.