November 17, 2006
DHS Warns "Virtual" Fence Will Cost More "Real" Money
"The Bush administration's proposal to secure the nation's borders with a
high-tech 'virtual fence' is likely to cost far more than the $2 billion that industry analysts initially estimated, possibly up to $30 billion, a government watchdog agency warned yesterday. According to the Homeland Security Department inspector general, the ambitious plan to deploy sensors, cameras and other surveillance technology along 6,000 miles of the borders with Canada and Mexico runs the risk of runaway costs because of poorly defined objectives and a vastly overstretched contracting staff at the department," the Washington Post reported. "Members of a House homeland security oversight panel stressed yesterday how the government's poor track record on border enforcement undermined their confidence. A much smaller attempt in the 1990s to deploy remote-sensing technology on the border 'started as a $2 million program and turned into a quarter-billion-dollar disaster,' said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), becoming 'a poster child of government waste and mismanagement.'"
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Illegal Alien Supporters Prepare for New Amnesty Push
"With the Democrats set to take control of Congress next year, pro-immigrant
groups are meeting around the nation to devise a new strategy to win amnesty for illegal immigrants, repeal of the Secure Fence Act and more visas for foreigners. Activists say they have a better chance of gaining reforms under the Democrats than under the Republicans, but believe it will still require intense political pressure and efforts to mold public opinion," the Washington Post reports. "Anti-illegal immigration groups counter that a number of Democrats will be loath to embrace legalization for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. 'Many newly elected members ran on a ticket of enforcement, so it's going to be difficult for them to turn around and vote for amnesty,' said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an anti-illegal immigrant group."
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