Departing Congress Approves 700-Mile ‘Wall to Nowhere’

“At a White House ceremony on Thursday, President Bush put his signature to a bill authorizing 700 miles of additional fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border. The bill supposedly demonstrates the determination of Congress to stop illegal immigration, but like much of its other efforts, the fence legislation is more symbolism than substance.

The 15-foot-high fencing with barbed wire and stadium lighting will cost at least $1.2 billion and may not be completed for years, if ever. And even if built, America’s recent history of pouring more and more resources into enforcing current immigration laws offers little hope that the fence will stem the inflow of undocumented workers.

The federal government has tried for two decades now to curb illegal immigration, with spending and border-patrol personnel up dramatically since the late 1980s. In the 1990s, the government erected miles of fencing through major urban corridors such as San Diego and El Paso. The fences only diverted the flow of humanity into more remote desert regions while the actual number of illegal immigrants entering the country each year and total number here has just kept growing.”

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