Three Years, 32 Miles of Double Fencing: Another Enforcement Promise Not Kept
In a demonstration of their commitment to securing America’s borders, Congress in 2006 approved construction of 700 miles of security fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. The security barrier was supposed to include two layers of fencing, making it significantly more difficult for illegal border crossers to successfully elude Border Patrol agents. This added barrier is especially important in populated areas, where illegal border-crossers can quickly blend into the population.
Fast-forward to 2009. A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that a grand total of 32 miles of double fencing has been completed—a pace of just under 11 miles a year. Moreover, those 32 miles may well be the only double fencing the public is likely to see along the increasingly violent border. The GAO’s assessment stands in stark contrast to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) January claim that the fence is nearly 90 percent complete.
Thanks to a 2007 amendment authored by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) the 2006 requirement that a fence be constructed became a matter that would be left up to the discretion of the Secretary of DHS. With the limited funding available, former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff opted to construct a single layer of fencing. Whether the second layer of fencing—which has proven to be extremely effective at preventing illegal border crossings in the areas where it exists—is constructed will now be left to the discretion of his successor, Janet Napolitano, and congressional appropriators.
Congressional opponents of the fence have wasted no time in trying to convince the Obama administration to halt construction. In a letter to President Obama, eight House members urged him to suspend construction and do further evaluation.
Even as the president is being urged to delay construction, the level of violence and cross-border criminal activity has been spiraling out of control. Drug smuggling, gun-running, and alien smuggling have combined to make the U.S.-Mexico border one of the most violent places on earth. Many of these criminal organizations have moved their operations across the border with deadly consequences. According to an ABC News report, Phoenix, Arizona, now ranks second only to Mexico City in the number of kidnappings — 370 in 2008 — spearheaded by Mexican drug cartels, which operate brazenly in the city.
The repudiation of a promise made to the American public just three years ago provides further evidence that any commitments that might be offered in exchange for another illegal alien amnesty would not be worth the taxpayer-funded paper they are printed on. As FAIR has repeatedly documented, nearly every promise of meaningful enforcement made by the government has either been broken or only partially implemented. Only concrete action can restore the public’s faith.
March 2009
