As usual, when some new government-funded construction project is approved, a score of chart-wielding arm-wavers spring up with the perfect solution. Pigs race to the trough. After all the PR BS, a poorly paid technical staff is assembled, which is hectored to deliver miracles with an impossibly short time schedule. This results in endless delays, cost overruns, and clueless lawyers running around in circles. The accountants can tell you to the penny how much money has been wasted, but cannot offer any help to solve the problem. Congress is no use, all their proposals are ghost-written by lobbyists and policy-wonks who sit in air-conditioned offices and have never put on a hardhat.

What people seem to forget is that fences have two sides. If this fence is completed and effective, what will happen if a day comes when we want to get the hell out of here?

Don't fence me in.

We need to just build the fence, not study it. We have fencing companies in Houston getting ready for the 4th of July celebration that put up several miles (yes MILES) of fence daily. This could all be done if someone would just do it and then apologize for not going through channels. Give me the money and an incentive bonus to finish early and I will have the fence up in a few weeks.

Several years ago, a huge reconstruction of I10 in Houston was begun and projected to take about 5 years to complete. The project will be completed soon, more than a year early and under budget. We Texans just get the job done. 4noone

Based upon the Vietnam fiasco, it would have been more economical to give $10,000 to every adult Vietnamese male, so as to induce individual self-interest versus communal reliance.

The border fence is illusionary; its effectiveness on par with that of a down-stream earthen dike when volume grows. The absolute corrupt - the perennial elite - that rules Mexico, must
facilitate, by whatever means, the export of the rising population there, in order to curtail costs, as well as to stem
revolution. Education there is maintained primitive, as it is a bothersome cost factor, as well a revolutionary seed. Yet Mexico
boasts having the richest man in the world.

The presence of extraordinary numbers of illegal migrants to the United States, without education, and without sustainable wages
has become an involuntary burden transferred to the U.S. middle
class, to shoulder; all manifested by the power of the elite here to influence the continuing supply of cheap labor by stymying
efforts to enforce immigration laws.

Congress has not anticipated the next 25 million, as well as the
Family Reunification copulate, now and in the future; including
the right to social security upon reaching 65, under the Carter protocol.

Post 1918, Herbert Hoover, directed the American Relief Aid
Program to both starving Europe and Russia. the program was an absolute success because Americans administered the
program down to the local community level.

My recommendation, to stem the volume of illegal immigration
from Mexico, is to grant $10,000 to all adult Mexican males under the age of 50, to establish sustainable work activities
on par with those of Asian countries; including agricultural
products resulting ethanol. The grants to be administered per the Hoover model. Fences I'm afraid, have the short-lived effect
as the application of the finger to halt the flow of water from the dike; or was it gum?

Obama, McCain and Barr, have displayed a willingness to
circumvent and detour away from targeting the root cause
of illegal immigration, rather than to commit their minds to
approaches that just may curtail the flow.

A 3rd-Party dedicated to such issues is needed over what is
being presented now. Democracy is a stake.

If we all ran a business the way the goverment runs theirs we would be looking for a Goverment bail out.(something the Goverment does allot of) Someone does not know how to get it done, and then they complain about how Bush runs the country, but they can't build a fence. Someone is not paying attention to the job at hand, more BS from the people that run these programs (they should be fired). There are plenty Americans out of work that can get this job done in no time. The real problems is that all the United States Goverment ever does is to talk about, we first have to do a study on this project, that, BS, BS, GREED, CORRUPTION, HAND OUTS FREE MONEY,KICK BACKS and so on, they are all in this together to PI__ _ the money away and a few people in the long run will end up with millions ( The Let's do a study people) without having to do anything, we spend more time talking and studying how we are going to do something and less time building it. AMERICAN CAN"T BUILD A FENCE???????????????? something is wrong with this picture, MAYBE we should hire someone from outside this country to build the fence, that is how we normally do things in this country we call it (outscourcing what a JOKE), the jobs Americans don't want(another JOKE), what a line of Bull S_ _ _ . Give me the money and I promise that I can get enough Americans to build this fence with in the alloted time HANDS DOWN. Americans are right when there say we need a change, we need a "MAN" with a set of you know what, who can handle this job of running this country the right way, and no one running for President currently can do it the way it should be done. One is the Joker and the other is the Riddler. The homeless can build the fence quicker then the people running the program, by the time they are done everyone who we are building this fence to keep out will be in this country, then we will have to do a study to tear it down. It's not being build because they don't want to build it.

Based uppon conversation heard from a lot of Mexican, here in the area, fence or no fence they will still come to USA. If you want to stop the illegals coming from the borders, you have to stop providing them with jobs, welfare plans, with public aid and child birth care. They think if they have a baby in the USA they can stay here and be part of USA because now they have a child born here. Here in Illinois is a program going on that all the children have to have the No child left behind program; and the most benefited are the children of the illegal imigrant. If we don't put a stop to this matter fence or no fence is not going to help us in any way. They come here Illegal and they want to tell us how to run this country too. A lot of them are always talking about how bad is our politians, they also say how much better is the people and in general Mexico. Which I don't understand why than be here. But any way thats the way they feel. I believe our president or congress should do more then just a fence, but to take a serious step with the Mexican leaders regarding this issue. This is my oppinion as an American, this is what I believe should be done.

The Republicans started this GOVERNMENT, INC. touting in Reagan's time, "that government should be run like a business". With that boast, they could make govt lean, efficient, capable and CHEap. What we have seen, is the downsizing of government agencies to inability to perform -that's impotency isn't it? Loaded govt agencies with political cronies: unfit, untrained, inexperienced and inept. They have been spending taxpayer money like "drunks at the race track" and have accepted little or no accountability for expenditures of billions of dollars here and in Iraq, etc..
AND OF COURSE THE DEFICIT IS A SCANDAL!!

Government Inc has been a failure because the Republican CEO's have behaved more like Kings than servants of the people. BushCo has demonstrated how power can be abusive and destructive.

It's time the government was restored to its role of "serving" the people of the US and leading the world with integrity and credibility. You can fault Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, but both have retained their world recognition as men of honor.

No border fence can stop illegal immigration. You put a fence, they will come from underneath.

The only solution is to tackle it economically. Give everyone who is here, a work visa. And a annual renewal license. Provided a tax is paid and record is clean. that way we will know who is where.

Once they are legal workers, nobody can exploit them, a minimum slary will have to be paid and therefore only if a skill is definitely short and hiring is viable will someone be able to find work. If not they will leave volunatrily

Let economy pan the immigartion issue.

Congress and the GAO need only look to San Diego to get a good picture of "estimate[d] maintenance costs for "tactical infrastructure"--including physical fencing as well as the $7 billion "virtual fence".

When San Diego put up that fence so touted by Duncan Hunter et al, Border Patrol employees had the job of maintaining it. When they had to keep adding people and the job eventually became 7-days a week the Border Patrol outsourced the mess. Some areas of the fence are broken down DAILY. More welding, more fencing, more cement, more salaries.

I'm sure there must be some data on how much it's costing to upkeep that little section per year. Extrapolate that figure out to the hundreds of miles we have and the hundreds to come and you get - -TOO MUCH!

As my very bright Gov Janet Napolitano and my presidential pick Gov Bill Richardson kept telling us: "show me a 12 ft fence and I'll show you a 13ft ladder".
The thing just has no chance of working; as its built it's being cut into, gone over and dug under.

And the damned thing stops right at Pres Bush's good friend Hunt's ranch border!
Guess his friend is more important than the security he claims this idiot fence will bring, eh?

The fence will do nothing to stop this.
It's purely economic. Illegals will continue to drag down our already suffering economy, by taking benefits away from the legals, to support the illegals. Wake up, America!

every time, when a mexican people try any good bussines, the USA monopoly take it over using many tricks, how can you expect the people stay at home when you here do all that you can to take away their dreams in their own countries. Why Calavo california Avocado is doing bussiness in Mexico, or Chiquita banana or General Motors, well thats why, Jose, Pancho and Maria are looking for job here. Is obvious. Be smart, let the people be free to make money and be a millionaire also. Mexico is also a land for the free and equal, means there are no Princess on Kings, or Prophets in the government.NAFTA means free trade and also free labor force moving, Do Mexico have to send back the CEO for all the USA corporation, or not?

The "Fence" will serve the US as well as Hadrian's Wall did the Romans, the Great Wall of China did the Ming Dynasty, or the Berlin Wall served the so-called German Democratic Republic. None of these regimes exist today, and technology has not changed the underlying notion that it is indeed possible to keep people out or in. One can only speculate as to how little time that will transpire (in our era of "e"-years where one passes every three months) before the US will join that sorry list.

As the US glides into another July 4th, please remember that its greatness is built on those who came to America, willingly or not.

Borders, Fences, out-sourceing, and cheap labor.

The question of "Secure our Borders" campaign which is an off-shoot of the English only proposition fostered in California in the 90's, hides the fact that for decades American corporations have been out-sourceing manufacreing in Mexico. I lived in Buffalo, New York when Trico industries told the UAW workers doing wind shield wipers, that they were shiping their facilities down in Mexico and on the Texas border, because, "We are making profits here, but we can make bigger profits in Mexico". With all of the talk of NAFTA, secure borders and what ever, no one ever says a word of this.

The same phlight of Trico Industries can, also, be said about Bethleem Steel, Ford, General Motors, or just the fortune 5oo. Big firms have been running to low wage centers because they can fatten their pockets, as they tell us to tighten our belts with wage cuts. When Regan was elected into office for the second time, he stated that we were making to much money and had to face the "new reality" and have to be in par with workers around the world. Workers in this country have tighten their belts to the point that both sides are touching,(give me some skin). The border with Mexico will always be their and putting up a fence in the hope, or lie, that it would keep out ists while blaming Mexicans for the failing economy, is just looking for scape goats. If we have two borders with Mexico and Canada, why is there not a fence on the Canadian border? No one is suggesting a fence to keep out the Canadians? If they want a fence in the south with Mexico they should put one on the Canadian border.

If the failing UAW leadership truely was fighting for the interests of workers in this country, they would go down to Mexico and get Mexican auto workers to join the UAW. If companies have the right to go anywhere in the world, why not the unions? Higher wages and global-unionism in Mexico whould put an end to run-away-plants here in this country, or any place on the planet. Unionism is a better way to "Protect our Borders".

Can't we just buy Mexico and stop all this nonsense about building a fence?

I haven't yet seen a Mexican smuggling explosives into this country but we hear about this happening through the Canadian border , why not put the fence there , ups!!!!!! that may insult the Canadiens , why not put one in the east coast , that may stop the boat people from coming in , and lets not forget the west coast and the smuggling of Chinese in container ships , better yet lets fence the country all around and put a dome on it so the terrorist don't fly in , like that we'll fell much safe and secure .
This fence thing is like trying to stop the ants from coming into your house , no matter what you do or what you put around your house , coming next season you have to do it all over again nothing last forever .

The USA GOVERNMENT: can give bonuses to the FDA so we can be systematically POISONED by MEXICO: and COMMUNIST CHINA.
The formr head of the US Border Patrol's daughter had the first contract: and none for the equipment for the US Border Patrol worked. Nothing was done.
There is money for everything except us dba the USA and our National Security/Defense.
Do Unto Others...
One Nation Under GOD
Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr could ALL donate our National Defense System to COMMUNIST CHINA: TRAITORS.
US TROOPS are systematically sacrificed on foreign soil: while the USA welcomes the worlds 96% overpopulation to INVADE at will and make demands, and receive CITIZENSHIP as i it i NOTHING more than a piece of paper..
WHILE we sacrifice our own generation.
SICK, EVIL, TREASON from within.
EXPECT a CIVIL WAR: expect bankruptcy and it will make the l930's of 60 MILLION citizens look like a picnic.
How did we come to arrive at a point where we cannot even learn of the TREASON from within: the USA Giveaway.
Coward TRAITORS unconcionable.

All of the comments I've read are great. They are to the point and that is: Our government doesn't want a fence they want open borders and the North American Union where all workers are low paid and the elite rule. McCain, Hillary and Obama are all CFR, Council on Foreign Relations, people and say that we must sacrrfice so all will benefit. That means nothing short of a communist, communal country where no one except the ruling class will be able to have the American Dream. The only person who will work to regain America's sovereignty, our flag (yes there's a new one already designed. Go to www.StopTheNorthAmericanUnion.com and see what the evils are planning for us.)The ONLY person who will lead this country out of this quagmire is Ron Paul. There's a march planned for this Saturday, July 12, in Washington, D.C. Go to www.RonPaulRevolution.com. He calls it the peaceful revolution to take back America. He's our only hope. Let others know, spread the message far and wide and write his name in on the ballot in November. Also a big rally for September in Minnesota at the same time as the Republican convention!!Ha! In their faces with liberty, honor and country.

The great wall was built to keep out the hordes; the Berlin wall was built to keep the people in; no wall has ever defeated human ingenuity and never will. That should be clear by now!
What we have here is a clear case of governmental responsibility being ignored by both Mexico and the United States. All sovereign nations have borders that define them. This is nothing new!
We have a Department called State, which is the senior Department in the executive branch and which is charged with the responsibility to interact with other nations. Clear so far? Good!
Now, when one nation intrudes on our sovereignty, it is up to the State Department to issue a blunt warning to the offending nation. The offending nation should respond and either cease the intrusions or be ready for the consequences sure to come from the offended nation.
If diplomacy fails to correct the problem, nations generally resort to force to re-establish their sovereignty.
A handful of illegal intrusions may well be a case for the Border Patrol to handle but when these illegals reach numbers in the millions, that becomes an invasion--and invasion is automatically a cause for war. Accordingly, we should now be at war with a very recalcitrant Mexican government, which will take no steps to stop it's citizens from invading The United States. Our armies should have been positioned at the border to forcefully stop all invaders a long time ago. How many foreign invaders do you suppose we'd have to shoot to bring this invasion to a screaching halt? Simple isn't it?
Of course you can introduce all sorts of unrelated business conditions or irrelevant history to justify the invasion but it doesn't do it! Millions of illegal intruders still constitute an invasion and it doesn't matter one bit, why they're breaking our laws. Calling these intruders immigrants is the first lie in this ponzi scheme. They are not immigrants , legal or otherwise. Calling them migrants hardly covers it either. They're purposefully circumventing an established and perfectly working Immigration System already in place. They are intruders period! and when these intruders come in sufficient numbers they are rightfully called an invasion. I do hope that this clarifies the problem and our responsibilities. So when is the State Department issuing its ultimatum to Mexico?
Yep, face it folks, we should have been bombing Mexico a long time ago, not Iraq! I do hope I haven't offended the sensibilities of our many hyphenated-Americans.

I, like a lot of Americans, am enraged at the so-called leadership of the country. We are not the great country that we used to be, and how quickly we have fallen. When I hear other Americans say that we are the greatest country in the world, I shake my head. Unfortunately, I believe we no longer can claim that title. What surprises me, is that the Bush Administration has gotten away with such incompetence and corruption for so long. I listened last evening to an individual being interviewed on Chicago NPR reporting how whistleblowers cannot bring their cases to court because of the "intelligence" that will be exposed. Yet the same government agency published that same "intelligence" to make its case in another venue. I hear or read about such stories on a daily basis, and wonder about our impotency as a people. Why are these clowns (my fear is that Cheney and his David Addington are truly evil men, and not clowns) not called to account for their trampling on the U.S. Constitution? Where are the statesmen in their own party who will speak truth to power and stop these traitors' assaults on the right of habeas corpus, freedoms from unreasonable searches, and the other rights for which patriots have fought? I think we are waiting to see if the next administration embraces the fraud and sleaze of this one. If it does, we will need a central organized platform from which Americans can begin to protest and to be ready to march in the streets. I personally will be watching to see if the next administration does its duty to investigate the high crimes and misdemeanors of the imperial court of the Current Occupant.

Has nobody realized this is a forest and can't see the forest from the trees as we say green, green but green is just the color of money; but has the mushroom growers fertilized us again with the lies, BS and Homeland Security? Fences for illegal immigrants to stay in but DHS has compensated $4.2 million to illegal immigrant families whose loved ones were hired by Bush/DHS/Government and paid to clean up the WTC 9/11 Ground Zero, remember now this legal limbo to legally invest the illegal immigrants $4.2 million is illegal isn't it or should the Gov't be fined $10,000 as they fine small businesses for hiring illegal immigrants? Also, DHS has not compensated one of their WTC federal employee responders, reported 10,000 others as being sick, and not a word has been uttered about that oversight as just written in the 9/11 Commission but legal illegally ignored but illegally legal for illegal immigrants received this $4.2 million but can't legally invest it since they have no papers but then how did they go to court, rather Congress, and get away with fraud?

See what mushroom farmers do is keep us in the dark, on a need to know basis not the right to know as our Constitution and legislation is so written but certainly not enforced.

And just how many "Mexicans" are terrorists and still live in Mexico and haven't already been hired by Congress as the vote on legislation to hire immigrants to work the fields? But, we can't see the forest from the trees because the trees are cut down for the million dollar fence?

Would you rather have your tax dollars go for a fence, keep illegal immigrants here, compensated $4.2 as our legal veterans WTC responders USA citizens are forgotten, sick and as my husband has died from brain cancer, lung cancer and DHS has not returned a call, but told me to hire a lawyer when DHS has worked out the legal limbo with the illegal immigrant lawyers does that mean the lawyer is committing fraud, consipracy and tax evasion? As if we Americans commit fraud, not report to the IRS or tax return for additional income or give a false name, we are fined, thrown in jail, hung out to be humiliated by our wonderful, illegal, conspiring, conspiracing, lying Government?

Vietnam Veteran, WTC DHS Federal Officer Widow
Pennsauken, NJ

I am fed up with talking about the money to build this fence, the money was voted in by congress. Feinstein from Cal changed the bill in her committee to give Homeland Security the power to use the money at their discretion. Bad move, also done in secret. They have spent millions on Virtual fences and none of them work. They need to build the 2 layer fence that works in San Diego. This fence will not keep them all out, but it will certainly slow them down, plus you can't move large quanties of drugs over that fence. With the fence and our laws enforced, such as take away the magnet of money and they will go home. Look at Oklahoma, they are proving that it works. If states need more people after their illegals go to a different state all they have to do is pay a decent living wage and advertise in states with high unemployment, the people will move if the opportunity is good for them. Common sense could go a long way to solve this problem.