The Fence: Three Choices

In the June 15 online edition of the Al-Qaeda Times (still referred to by some as the New York Times but we can have the "aiding and abetting the enemy" argument another day) there is a cute little piece (complete with photos and diagrams) pointing out that the planners of the yet-to-be-built Border Fence are apparently bumbling idiots. The author comes to this conclusion because (as the diagrams illustrate so well) the planned route cuts Brownsville in half.

Regardless of what your opinion of Brownsville is (I happen to be good friends with at least two people that think its a nice town) the idea of running the fence through a United States city does seem rather ill-advised if not just downright silly.

So our three choices are:
1) Construct a Big, Solid, Literal Fence (and no matter where you put it somebody will be unhappy)
2) Construct a virtual fence (cameras, sensors, more man power - that sort of thing)
3) Do nothing.

Given the fact that even the reporter for the times witnessed illegal border crossings and spoke with people who see worse than that on a regular basis, I really don't think that "Do Nothing" is a viable option. (BTW, a large number of "OTM" or "Other Than Mexican" illegals cross our southern border every year)

I don't completely agree with my friend that stated "Only communist countries build walls". When we were talking he was busy driving and I was busy distracting him (my bad) so the barriers in Gaza and the West Bank completely slipped my mind. While I don't wholeheartedly agree with the panicky attitude of the municipal commerce departments in this part of the valley, I can see where the construction of a BIG HUGE UGLY wall could possibly hurt commerce a little. That would last for maybe a year and then, the next Christmas it would business as usual, with not enough room in the stores to swing a dead cat.

A second problem with a Literal Wall is that whatever monies are spent in construction will NOT be spent on enforcement.

That's why, after much thought, I am ready to throw my support behind a Virtual Wall with more manpower for this area. Consequently, no matter what type of physical or electronic barrier we attempt to construct, people will do whatever they can to get here. That's why this whole thing is nothing more than a big, expensive dog and pony show without workplace enforcement. We have to make it not worth the effort to come here illegally.

More on Attrition Through Enforcement later.