The United States and Mexico border is 1952 miles long. The House-Senate negotiators are currently nearing agreement on a homeland security budget that includes between $1 billion and $1.2 billion as a down payment toward fencing the United States - Mexico border. Please note that this is a down payment.
While I'm not taking a stand here on whether or not illegal immigration should be or should not be allowed, let's get realistic here.
There are currently 70 miles of fence up along the border in various high traffic areas. Here are some photos of some examples. If the government plans on putting up more fences like this, how can anyone ever expect to keep anyone out?
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| Anyone over there? | Who could penetrate this? | Walking to find an opening |
Do not expect illegal immigration to drop if nothing is done to either allow them a legal way to enter the country, or figure a way to fill the jobs they are taking with native-born labor. And most economists argue that there are simply too many low-skill level jobs for that to happen, no matter what employers are willing to pay. The border is simply where the workers must cross to answer the siren song of the U.S. employer.