WASHINGTON — The Senate gave final approval late Friday [29 September 2006] to legislation authorizing the construction of 698 miles of double-layered fencing on the U.S.-Mexico border, shelving President Bush’s vision of an overhaul of U.S. immigration laws in favor of a vast barrier. […]
The Secure Fence Act authorizes the construction of at least two layers of reinforced fencing around the border town of Tecate, Calif., and a huge expanse stretching from Calexico, Calif., to Douglas, Ariz., virtually the entire length of Arizona’s border with Mexico.
Another expanse would stretch over much of the southern border of New Mexico, with another section winding through Texas, from Del Rio to Eagle Pass, and from Laredo to Brownsville.
The Department of Homeland Security would be required to install an intricate network of surveillance cameras on the Arizona border by May 30, 2007, with the entire fence set for completion by the end of 2008.
Under the measure, the secretary of homeland security would have 18 months to achieve “operational control” of the U.S. frontier, using unmanned aerial vehicles, ground-based sensors, satellites, radar and cameras to prevent all unlawful U.S. entries. Fortifying those requirements, Congress approved $1.2 billion in a separate homeland-security spending bill to bankroll the fence.
That figure, however, is only a down payment and falls far short of the $6 billion the fence is expected to cost. The border now has 83 miles of fences. Lawmakers from both parties conceded that, even at 698 miles, the new barriers would leave nearly 1,200 miles of border uncovered. […]
Advocates and opponents of the measure said it is not clear that the fence can be built as the bill envisions. The Arizona branch would have to plunge down steep ravines and scale craggy mountain peaks. “This is not Iowa farm land,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. Construction is “going to be near impossible.”
A vast stretch of the Arizona fence would traverse the lands of the Tohono O’odham Nation, which strongly opposes it and could bring suit, said Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz. And the Border Patrol does not have enough agents to stop smugglers from knocking holes in remote stretches.