[Ramius]

I'm not just flaming out here... I'm genuinely interested in your approach: How do we "seal" 22,000 miles of border? Lots of people throw that out as if it were like locking a gate. But how is it actually done?

Checkpoints every few miles on every highway? Everybody carries a passport or other "papers" to prove they are a citizen?

[Nanodik]

How do we "seal" 22,000 miles of border

See post 19. If it's good enough for the Korean peninsula, hell it's good enough for us!

[Zipporah]

Consider the present cost: The Congress has quietly approved the most open-door policy in history, allowing up to l0,000 immigrants per day.
The number of illegal immigrants now in the United States is 8.7 million, and the INS is unable to deport them. U.S. services and benefits given to legal and illegal immigrants cost American taxpayers $68 billion per year - and that number is growing. Then basically the entire population would be mobilized..
Bilingual education doubles the cost of schooling aliens. In the Southwest, a new school per day would have to be built to keep up.
English as our language is under assault - with driver's licenses, voting ballots and citizenship ceremonies offered in dozens of languages.
American history and achievements are being replaced in schoolbooks with political correctness, self-criticism and America as "oppressor."
400,000 foreigners now collect Social Security benefits without ever working a single day in America. Immigrants get Medicaid twice as often as native citizens.
Immigration costs U.S.-born workers $133 billion per year in job losses.
On Sept. 11, legal and illegal Muslim immigrant terrorists killed 3,000 innocent Americans and destroyed tens of billions of dollars in property.
Over 25 percent of federal prisoners are immigrants. Illegals commit 12 percent of felonies, 25 percent of burglaries and 34 percent of car thefts.
Non-citizens collect $7 billion per year in welfare, including medical assistance, food stamps and housing - courtesy of U.S. taxpayers, whose representatives in the Congress allow this to happen.
Two-thirds of U.S. population growth is due to our immigration policy. American cities, parks, roads, schools, beaches, hospitals and water supplies are straining under increasing pressure for more and more freebies.

A bounty of even $100 paid to report illegals that would "result in the deportation" which would amount to a billion dollars which would be a bargain compared to what we are now paying in tax dollars and maybe American firms would have to begin to offer reasonable wages so Americans would be employed in those jobs that "Americans won't take"..

[Celtman]

How do we "seal" 22,000 miles of border?

      22,000 miles?  The land border of the US is 12034 km (or 7478 miles), including the Alaska - Yukon border. Add a coastline of 19,924 km (or 12380 miles), and you get up to 19858 miles.  The Coast Guard does a decent job of patrolling the coasts already.  CIA World Factbook

Checkpoints every few miles on every highway?

      No.  Just 1 (one) per highway - at the border. 

[Zipporah]

Oh and in addition, I didn't address the cost of family reunification according the the CIA website re Mexico
Total fertility rate: 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.)

.. consider that a spouse would come to the US in addition to those 2.53 children... consider multiplying 10,000 times (the numbers of illegals admitted to) those children & spouse.

[Salgak]

How ?

Landmines and a 20 foot high Concrete Wall on the southern border. . .

[ableChair]

Joseph Stalin did a pretty good job of it. It isn't that hard. Just put a sentry road along the border and man it. Do the math; it doesn't take that many people (or just ask Stalin).

[WOSG]

I agree that is bumber sticker logic.

OTOH, building a fence is not that impractical as part of the solution. Along any 50 mile stretch where there is a problem, build a fence. And of course man and staff it so the border crossings are stopped.

Another thing: We just release the crossers. We got smarter recently. We release the Arizona crossers in Texas. Then they cant go back to their "coyotes" and try again right away. I also think we should tag the offenders and for repeat offenders, jail them for a few weeks, then send them to mexico.


"Checkpoints every few miles on every highway? Everybody carries a passport or other "papers" to prove they are a citizen?" Actually, proper verification for employment is doable, but we dont have the will to make it stick.

Illegal immigration "works" because illegal aliens can get fraudulent documentation for small change. Then the employer 'accepts' that as good enough for employment, without truly verifying its authenticity. Presto, the illegal has a job and the employer has a fig leaf. We need to end that travesty.

You see the law only requires the employer to not knowingly hire illegals. If we created a verification database, then the problem would be lessened greatly. Then put the legal burden on the employers; YOU are responsible. Add a bonus to privateers to finding illegals and reporting them.

The INS needs to stop simply 'reporting' that illegals work someplace, they need to go there, find them and DEPORT them pronto.

Also it would work wonders if the visa status was on driver's licenses and the drivers license was not valid past any vias expiration date. Then you *further* forbid use of the matircula cards in banks, you *further* require hospitals to get proper ID and pass a law that says hospitals dont have to treat any patient without legal immigration status (saving medicare/medicaid a few billion).
Not to mention getting the real immigration status of kids in schools.


Bush's guest worker program + real border security + real enforcement => instead of 8 million illegals, we'd have maybe 5 million guest workers, and a few million folks going home to Mexico.

[Edit35]

"How do we "seal" 22,000 miles of border? Lots of people throw that out as if it were like locking a gate. But how is it actually done?"

We start by building a fence, combination electric-metal with radar detectors in certain areas where it is not feasible for a metal fence.

The technology is already available.

We are spending $150 BILLION in the war on terror. We should be able to afford a billion or two for a freakin fence.

I refuse to watch my kids and grand kids grow up, fighting to speak English in their own country.

Bush should be forced to live for a few months, without Secret Service protection, in a mid-sized East Coast or West Coast city. It is like living in a foreign, third world country, with police unable to even investigate massive crime due to lack of communication ability.

Man, this proposal really ticks me off.