GovernmentExecutive.com

House Republicans introduced Wednesday legislation that would require the Homeland Security Department to install a two-layered reinforced fence along five areas of the Mexican border in an effort to crack down on illegal immigration.

The bill, sponsored by Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., is the first measure of a GOP get-tough border security agenda it believes will resonate with voters before Election Day. A vote is planned for Thursday.

The King legislation would rewrite a 1996 federal immigration law that required fencing near the San Diego border to include five specific sites among 700 miles of fencing. Those areas include a 20-mile stretch at Tecate, Calif.; a 15-mile stretch between Calexico, Calif., and Douglas, Ariz.; a 15-mile stretch between Columbus, N.M., and El Paso, Texas; a 10-mile stretch between Del Rio, Texas, and Eagle Pass, Texas; and a 15-mile stretch between Laredo, Texas, and Brownsville, Texas.

The legislation also would require Homeland Security to conduct a study on construction of a state-of-the-art barrier system along the Canadian border and another study that would evaluate the authority of personnel to stop vehicles that enter the United States illegally and refuse to stop.

COMMENTS

• Hey, Phil, lighten up a little! Even assuming that your statement regarding stealing the Southwest from Mexico is true (and there are many who would disagree with that interpretation), the statute of limitations on theft has expired after 158 years! What's next -- giving back the United States to the Indians/Native Americans, or reparations to the descendants of slaves? GovExec.com reader Posted October 2, 2006 4:48 PM
• While the fence might be effective, it would be wise to let the guard do the building and keep contractors out of the mix. My guard unit was one of many that built the fence south of San Diego. Also, how about building a fence to keep out the Mid-westerners, D.C, politicians and other idiots who don't know or understand the history of the Southwest and the land stolen from Mexico in 1848? Phil Posted September 17, 2006 7:39 PM
• Do not build fences - dig a great big moat! A manmade river from San Diego to the Gulf of Mexico would allow for ships to cross to the Gulf and would stop illegal immigrants at the same time. We would get value and not simply cost! Taxpayer Posted September 15, 2006 7:48 AM