January 28, 2019

In 2006, congress passed and then President George Bush signed into law the Secure Border Wall Act. The bill was introduced in the House by New York Congressman Peter King (R-Seaford). The law which had strong bipartisan support passed the Senate by a vote of 80-19 with 54 Republicans & 26 Democrats voting yes and in the House by a vote of 283-138 with 219 Republicans & 64 Democrats voting yes. The law authorized 700 miles of fencing along the 1954 miles of the southern border which was to consist of at least two layers of reinforced fencing. At the time of its passage, no objection was raised with the claim that the large metal wall was immoral or costly.

Like all things Congress passes, there are always amendments. In 2007, an amendment was passed giving the Department of Home Land Security (DHS) flexibility in the type of fencing and where to place the fencing based on the terrain. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the fence was completed in 2015 at a cost of 2.3 billion with only 350 miles of actual fencing and 299 miles of vehicle barriers. A  2017 GAO report (17-331) notes that between fiscal year 2010-2015, the physical fencing was breached 9287 times by cutting the fence and digging under the fencing. Each breach cost $784 to repair. It also documented how smugglers used ramps to drive over the vehicle barriers.

The report found that the fencing itself was in disrepair at several areas along the border. In New Mexico, the fencing was found to have degraded to a point where Border Patrol Agents reported that it reduced the time they have to catch illegal aliens as the fencing does not slow down the process of those crossing. As a result, additional agents must be deployed in those areas to ensure effective border security operations. Oddly, the report also found the Border Patrol (BP) has not established metrics to measure the effectiveness of fencing and vehicle barriers.

Looking at the report and plain common sense, a properly constructed border fence or wall with double layers would provide a high level of border security. Even a single wall constructed with a deep foundation of concrete would be just as effective when compared to no barrier at all. The primary task of fencing would be to discourage and thwart illegal crossings, however those who attempt to smuggle people, drugs and other contraband would still seek to cross at more remote and rural location but who would be slowed down long enough for the Border Patrol to interdict. This would give the Border Patrol more flexibility and would free up more agents to moved to more problematic areas as needed. 

A significant number of illegal aliens who enter the United States as Family units and or those that claim asylum, usually enter at the ports of entry. It has become well known that if they enter as family units or claim asylum, they are often given appearance tickets, sometimes given ankle bracelets and released into the interior. When the Border Patrol has attempted to limit the number that are processed on a given day, these individuals then attempt to enter at other areas of the border and surrender to the Border Patrol. By gaming the system and overwhelming the Border Patrol, illegal aliens are keenly aware that they will not be subject to detention.

Two issues in particular are the drivers for this problem. The first problem was passage of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Action Act in 2008. Due to a concern over smuggling of children for the sex trade, congress required court hearings for children from countries other than Canada and Mexico. Second, is the consent degree arising from the lawsuit, Reno v. Flores in 1997 which required that minors be held in the least restrictive setting possible and that they must be relapsed from immigration detention as promptly as possible. The minors would often be released to  relatives or family members within the United States many who were also in the U.S. illegally. In 2015, U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee found that the Flores settlement equally applied to both family units and unaccompanied minors. She further ordered that the government is limited to holding parents and children for up to 20 days.

If is without question a national disgrace what is occurring on the border. The United States has a long history of accomplishing some of the greatest projects in history such as the building the Panama Canal, the Hoover Dam and the Interstate Highway System and yet we are unable to get operational control of our southern border. By ignoring the common sense fencing and addressing specific legislative fixes, Congress could fix this issue once and for all in a matter of a year. The real reason for the border mess is politics. The Democrat party wants new voters as well as illegal voters to win elections and Republicans along with their corporate allies want cheap labor. Both parties are big supporters of H1B visa abuse where companies import foreign labor to in source the work and eliminate American jobs.

The American people understand what they see before their eyes; an invasion of foreign nationals from all over the globe storming the southern border either getting through without detection or being released into the interior due to poorly drafted legislation and legal decisions. They feel the pain of loved ones as victims of illegal alien crime. They hear the battle cry of the Democrat party that seeks to give sanctuary to criminal illegal aliens and use taxpayer money taken from the pockets of middle class citizens to provide benefits to those who are here illegally. President Trump understands common sense. He understands his responsibility to keep the  American People safe by stopping illegal immigration, stopping drugs from entering the country, fighting sex trafficking and welcoming legal immigrants into our nation. That effort begins with building a wall that works and finishing it once and for all. Build the damn wall!