- By Editorial Board
- Posted October 14, 2009 at 12:01 a.m.
Congress just may be waking up to reality about the fence it voted in 2006 to inflict upon our southern border. Last week, its members again voted on the fence, this time to strip an amendment from the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that would require 300 additional miles.
Sen. Jim Demint, R-S.C., sponsor of the provision, last summer had convinced his colleagues that low-rise vehicle barriers and virtual fencing wouldn’t do the job needed for national security. But now, budget constraints — and perhaps the fact that border violence continues — have Congress looking for less expensive alternatives to the 18-foot-high metal fence.
Congress really ought to reconsider the entire project, or at least the part of the fence that’s in South Texas. The first step should be a visit by a congressional delegation to the Texas side of the Rio Grande Valley.
About 70 miles of steel fence have been erected there already. It has split up property, making it difficult to impossible for some to access parts of their own land and lowering property values. As David Sikes pointed out in his Sunday column, gaps in the fence have given rise to speculation about special exemptions being granted to influential landowners. The Texas Border Coalition, which includes most mayors and Chambers of Commerce along the 1,200-mile valley, also accuses the DHS of favoring wealthy landowners in deciding where to locate the fence. (Time magazine, May 21, 2008)
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