Best estimates for a truly secure (Israel-style) wall are $8 billion just to build it. Then you have to man it and maintain it.
Not going to happen. I'd much rather see us eliminate incentives for illegals to come here, such as heavy fines for businesses that knowingly hire illegals. Choke off the jobs, and that will stem the tide a little. Change the laws to eliminate "anchor babies," and that will stem the tide a little more. Make anyone caught here illegally permanently ineligible for citizenship.
To keep the illegals out, we first need to make the nation a little less attractive for them. That plus border enforcement will do more than any fence.
"Best estimates for a truly secure (Israel-style) wall are $8 billion just to build it."
Where did you get this? The San Diego-area wall made of long concrete posts next to each other, topped by barbed wire, cost 1.7 million a mile. That's 3.3 billion for the whole 1945 mile border with Mexico.
Here's an article with a picture of the wall I'm talking about:
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=113823
"Not going to happen."
And why is that exactly? The money is about the same as a month or two of the Iraq operation- we manage to scrape that up. How about using that to actually protect our own borders? 3.3 billion is chicken feed for Congress.
As far as the political realities, border security is much more feasible politically than, say, strict employer enforcement or mass deportations of existing Hispanics. Heck, the Hispanics who are already here would love to see us keep the competition out.
I've thought about this carefully and the border wall is doable. The biggest enemy of the border wall is the thinking that it's NOT doable for a great country like ours. It absolutely is. It won't keep them all out, but it will help a great deal.
"Congress voted Saturday to give NASA all of the $16.2 billion it sought for 2005, money not only to return the space shuttles to flight but also to start designing a replacement spaceship and planning moon missions."
Geez, we could have a huge improvement in border security for decades for about the cost of one year of the useless space shuttle and space station? Let's do it!
"Make anyone caught here illegally permanently ineligible for citizenship."
I like the sound of that!
Amen. I've said all along that the best way to stop immigration is to shut off the welfare faucet.
"Best estimates for a truly secure (Israel-style) wall are $8 billion just to build it"
As far as I'm concerned, at the federal level 8 bil is chicken feed.
I'm with you, partly:
One big step would cut illegals by 2/3s, I'll bet:
Tax money transfers to Mexico at about 25%
Next big step:
Only children born to parents both of whom are US citizens are automatically granted citizenship.
But as for giving business owners law-enforcement responsibilities:
I thought that's why we had police in the first place?