‘Virtual Fence’ Along Border To Be Delayed
Bad news for immigration hawks (in the US): ‘ The Bush administration has scaled back plans to quickly build a “virtual fence” along the U.S.-Mexico border, delaying completion of the first phase of the project by at least three years and shifting away from a network of tower-mounted sensors and surveillance gear.’
“Technical problems discovered in a 28-mile pilot project south of Tucson prompted the change in plans,” the WaPo reports.
When asked about it, ‘authorities confirmed that Project 28, the initial deployment of the Secure Border Initiative network, did not work as planned or meet the needs of the U.S. Border Patrol.’
As the newspaper points out, the ‘announcement marked a major setback for what President Bush in May 2006 called “the most technologically advanced border security initiative in American history.” The virtual fence was to be a key component of his proposed overhaul of U.S. immigration policies, which died last year in the Senate.’
And it will, most surely, anger a whole bunch of immigration hawks.
As it is, though, I don’t quite see how this fence will add much to the security of the United States. Aside from that, it seems to me that it also costs a whole lot of money. One wonders whether there aren’t other projects the US government can use that money for.
Projects that actually accomplish something.
All in all, the news means that ‘the first phase will not be completed until near the end of the next president’s first term.’
2008 elections question: will this help McCain / the Republicans? After all, they can make it a number one issue again.
Immigration problem question: will this, perhaps, enable McCain to finally convince the base that trying to get rid of all immigration is a pipedream and that it’s best to focus on trying to make it more easy for people to migrate to the US legally?
The word you kept forgetting was "illegal" as in "illegal immigration"
Fences aren’t put up for legal immigrants.
I think it could actually hurt McCain, because he’s promised the immigration hawks that he’ll ‘build the d#mn fence’. They were reluctant to believe that he was serious about it, and this shows that it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to do it in a reasonable length of time and will increase their doubts that it’ll ever happen.
I don’t know cs, impugning a politician for technical issues? I’d like to think not.
Besides with Arizona taking its own lead on improved employer enforcement, we may get to see the more effective solution first.