Posted on 01/21/2015 3:43:04 PM PST by MarchonDC09122009
New GOP Border Security Bill Removes Border Fences The new border bills drafted by Republican leaders require the actual removal of at least 66 miles of weak border fencing between Mexico and the United States.
The border bills also only require for the construction of 27 miles of effective double-layer fencing along the 2,000-mile border.
“It is a remarkable that the direction of our progress is going backwards, from a goal of building 700 miles of double-layer border fencing [in 2006] to only 27 miles [in 2015],” said a Hill staffer who opposes the leaders’ bills.
“Where the double-layer fence has been put in, it has worked spectacularly. The public is with us 80, 90 percent on this issue,” he added.
Extra fencing would be a waste of money, according to Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
“The bill matches resources to needs, putting 27 more miles of fencing where fencing is needed, and technology where technology is needed,” said the statement.
“In our conversations with outside groups, experts and stakeholders, we learned that it would be an inefficient use of taxpayer money to complete the fence. … We are using that money to utilize other technology to create a secure border,” said the statement.
A House staffer said the McCaul’s bill doesn’t require a major fence because of advocacy by Heritage and Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform.
Dan Holler, communications director for Heritage Action for America, told The Daily Caller that Heritage did not recommend against fencing.
ATR has joined with wealthy advocates — such as former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — to call for increased use of foreign workers and residency for illegal immigrants.
Senate committee staffers declined to offer any reassurances that Senators would modify the bill to fund more fencing and to block Obama’s catch-and-release policy, prior to a Senate vote in a few weeks.
“We’re going to be looking at everything,” said a committee staffer. “We can’t give any detail beyond that.”
The Senate bill is co-sponsored by Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who co-sponsored the Senate’s 2013 immigration bill.
“We introduced the McCaul [House] bill [in the Senate] as is and plan to update and improve it as we study the issue through [House] briefings and hearings,” said the staffer, who works for the Senate’s homeland security committee. The committee is chaired by Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson.
The public strongly supports a border fence. An April 2013 poll by Rasmussen shows “that 57% of Likely U.S. Voters think the United States should continue building a border fence, while 29% disagree.” Support for the fence is much higher among the GOP-leaning voters that provided the votes for the GOP victory in November.
A 2006 law required the construction of 700 miles of double-layer fencing along the 2,000 mile border. However, Congress quietly modified the bill in 2008 to allow the construction of simple, ineffective fences in place of the required double-layer fencing.
Officials claim that just over 600 miles of the border now have obstructions, including barriers. But those barriers include lines of bollards to stop vehicles, plus single-layer “landing mat fencing” and only 36.5 miles of double-layer fencing.
The leaders’ bills call for the replacement of anti-pedestrian mat fences by anti-vehicle bollards.
The bollards will allow migrants to be driven up to the border, and then walked over to a pick-up vehicle on the U.S. side.
“Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall replace, at a minimum, each of the following: (A) Thirty-one miles of landing mat fencing with bollard style fencing in the Border Patrol’s San Diego sector. (B) Five miles of landing mat fencing with bollard style fencing in the Border Patrol’s El Centro sector. (C) Three miles of landing mat fencing with bollard style fencing in the Border Patrol’s Yuma sector. (D) Twenty-five miles of landing mat fencing with bollard style fencing in the Border Patrol’s Tucson sector. (E) Two miles of landing mat fencing with bollard style fencing in the Border Patrol’s El Paso sector,” says a section on page 12 of the House bill, HR 399.
I want to see apologies from Free Republic’s GOP bots to America for their wanton disregard for the facts we buried them in prior to their voting to empower liberalism.
Because America DESERVES an apology from the people that slapped it in the face.
And the liberals here will be rehashing the same excuses for abandoning principle, ignoring the founders words, the Constitution and placing party over country. As it ever was.
“just re elect these people”
The problem is obvious.
Has a 100% sealed border voting record e.g. USBC rating. Some quotes stripped from context, no text from the bill. And all we have on the other side is some griping from an anonymous staffer. Not good enough. If someone doesn't like the bill, they need to stand up, identify themselves, and lead. Otherwise we have nothing but whisper versus whisper and Politico and all the rest of the media will win at that game.
Because a good dominatrix is expensive in DC.
Jeez. time for a third option.
Good point and facts.
Obvious point to all - Israel has Much greater resolve to maintain security, versus the USA.
We did “try” to deploy One Billion dollars of technology on the border during GWB’s tenure.
If I’m not mistaken, it didn’t work and was deemed a Big waste of taxpayer money.
I don’t believe technology will ever be the answer.
You mentioned Israel employs a highly mobile border force.
Bingo. We need sufficient GIs all along the border with practical rules of engagement.
Mexico soldiers or cartel fire toward the USA, then fire on ‘em till they’re dead or retreat.
If we’ve voted Republican once in the last 26 years (in the general election), we’ve basically done it. None of the men on our side gave one hoot about our founding documents.
I will tell you, it’s pretty tough realizing it will be twenty-eight years come 2016, since we’ve had a true lover of this nation running for the presidency.
Ping!
I love it when people tell me what I am if I disagree with them. Pretty much what the left does isnt it :)
They won't learn. They don't want to learn. I highly suspect most are party officers on a local or state level and their precious prestigious in their eyes GOP social circle position supersedes the good of the nation.
If Hillary Clinton announced she was changing to the GOP they would be posting to us what a great thing this will be for the GOP.
Oh I agree. I am guilty. It’s been 6 years clean for me from the GOP addiction and I am ashamed of every vote since Reagan. And I admitted just that in public before.
I was wrong. Plain and simple. I helped in this mess. And THAT was wrong.
The difference is that I and many others learned that lesson and have since tried to stop others from furthering our collective mistake. It won’t absolve us of our role in it, but it will stop the country from getting worse. It’s all we can do and it’s the right thing to do.
Toys ? Our cost is lives as it should be theirs as well...
Thats because it’s leftists who tell you that. Pedos think pedobear stuff is OK, GOP sycophants think liberalism/leftism is OK.
The great thing about leftists is they never prove anything they say. you are just supposed to meekly grovel before them.
Take Bert here on FR for example. There’s a leftist sycophant that goes on and on thread after thread hit and running comments about how wrong I am on everything. How much proof of his assertion has he provided? ZERO. Because as a leftist POS, he doesn’t need to. He just lies and runs. If he wasn’t lying, he’d prove it and thus not BE a leftist POS.
I agree the fence is too expensive. Land mines are much more cost effective.
They will lose those too when the illegals sieze power. But I want to see them suffer first. Like they caused good people and their families to suffer through their careless voting. And nothing hurts adult children more than taking their toys away.
State of the art technology and reinforced mobile forces in Texas.
Norm Lenhart, you are my kind of freeper. Sincere thanks.
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Don’t say that too loud. The Freeper left will add you to their ‘list’. Soon you’ll have a raging idiot posting Yosemite Sam on a dragon JPGs and saying “Thats YOU! Guh...hehhhh!” as political commentary ;)
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