Issue 118 Boarder Fence?! July 11, 2013

Does a boarder fence deter illegal immigration into the United States? Does it actually reduce the amount of people coming in without permission? Well the answer is yes and no. Let's review.

When it works: It works when the fence is built effectively. The most effective types of boarder fence are double walled. This means two walls/fences with a space in between. Why is it more effective? It is more effective because the two walls make it harder to cross as while you may be able to get over the first wall, it takes time to get over the second and patrol officers use the gap in the middle to patrol the boarder.

When they don't work: The ones that don't work are the ones that illegal migrants can simply cut through, or clime over to get to the other side. Others are simply vehicle barriers that people can cross on foot to meet an awaiting vehicle. Basically, when ever they can simply cut, clime or walk right through, then the fence does not work.

Electronic Fence: This idea of using surveillance cameras to track when someone is crossing is a good one, but with a flaw. If no one is there to stop the people trying to cross then what the heck is the point of wasting the money on all those ground and motion sensors. There is no point to a fence that cannot be used to enforce legal immigration.

What is needed: We do need double fencing as it works especially in high population areas where cities of two countries are right next to each other. To act as a further deterrent, the space between the fences can have a kind of razor wire to tangle anyone who manages to get over the first wall. There will still be space for a patrol vehicle between the walls, but these walls will double as vehicle barriers with pilings to help deter enterprising individuals from digging drug tunnels.

From there we take advantage of natural barriers like the Rio Grand on the boarder of the U.S. and Mexico. In areas of high water currents place vehicle barriers in the water where boats can potentially be used to load cargo and people and ferry them to the other side. In unpopulated areas vehicle barriers along with natural shrubbery that hinders people moving by foot would be best. In this case a double vehicle barrier spaced enough with dense shrubbery or other plant and obstacles where it becomes too tedious to try and cross between by foot from one side to the other by foot.

The remaining component is having each part of this type of fencing wide enough to ensure that it is effective. If the double wall only lasts till the end of the city limits, then all the illegal migrant(s) has to do is drive to the end of the barrier and get picked up there. So spacing it out where it becomes too expansive to accomplish is the key. Basically make it so difficult that coming into the country legally is easier to accomplish (maybe combined with an ideal immigration system: see issues 115, 116, and 117).

Conclusion: An effective wall can work as in certain spots along the boarder illegal crossings have dropped by 75%. How much that is due to how the economy is doing or the fence itself is still in question however. What needs to be done though is replace boarder patrol with the National Guard. The National Guard troops are under direct control of the State Governors, but are equally adept at enforcing a boarder and following federal laws. Boarder patrol, which is controlled by Washington D.C. and its bureaucrats, becomes ineffective beyond immigration check points. This from my perspective is due to politics and how boarder policy can be used to manipulate certain groups in the election season. The Coast Guard already guards our boarders at sea so why not the National Guard on land, and the Air National Guard aiding this effort in the air. We do need a fence combined with an improved and effective legal immigration program to provide an alternative to the failed system that either remains unenforced or ineffective as we currently have now.