.
"The (2006) law was quietly altered in a significant way the following year (2007)....The law was amended to read, "nothing
in this paragraph shall require the Secretary of Homeland Security to
install fencing."...
------------------------
5/16/2011, "Obama says the border fence is 'now basically complete'," PolitiFact, Robert Farley
"Sections of the fence on the Mexico border, like this one near San Miguel, Ariz., are designed primarily to stop vehicles." Politifact photo
"In his speech in El Paso on immigration reform on May 10,
2011, President Obama declared that the fence along the border with
Mexico is "now basically complete."
Still, he predicted that many Republican opponents won't be satisfied.
"We have gone above and beyond what was requested by the very
Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got
serious about enforcement," Obama said. "All the stuff they asked for,
we’ve done. But even though we’ve answered these concerns, I’ve got to
say I suspect there are still going to be some who are trying to move
the goal posts on us one more time."
"They'll want want a higher fence," Obama said. "Maybe they’ll need a
moat. Maybe they want alligators in the moat. They’ll never be
satisfied. And I understand that. That’s politics."
Fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border has long been a thorny political
issue, so with Obama declaring mission accomplished, we decided to check
it out.
Department of Homeland Security officials told us they have finished 649
out of 652 miles of fencing (99.5 percent), which includes 299 miles of
vehicle barriers and 350 miles of pedestrian fence.
But the same day as Obama's speech, Sen. Jim DeMint penned an op-ed for National Review
in which he countered that the Obama administration has "not done its
job to finish the border fence that is a critical part of keeping
Americans safe and stopping illegal immigration."
"Five years ago, legislation was passed to build a 700-mile double-layer
border fence along the southwest border," DeMint wrote. "This is a
promise that has not been kept. Today, according to staff at the
Department of Homeland Security, just 5 percent of the double-layer
fencing is complete, only 36.3 miles."
So what gives? Is the border fence "now basically complete" or not? Not to go all Clinton on you, but it largely depends on how you define "fence."
You need to go back to the Secure Fence Act of 2006,
which was passed by a Republican Congress and signed by President
George W. Bush. It authorized the construction of hundreds of miles of
additional fencing along the border with Mexico. The act specified "at
least two layers of reinforced fencing."
But the law was quietly altered in a significant way the following year.
Responding to urging from the Department of Homeland Security -- which
argued that different border terrains required different types of
fencing, that a one-size-fits-all approach across the entire border
didn't make sense -- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, proposed an
amendment to give DHS the discretion to decide what type of fence was
appropriate in different areas. The law was amended to read, "nothing
in this paragraph shall require the Secretary of Homeland Security to
install fencing, physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and
sensors in a particular location along an international border of the
United States, if the Secretary determines that the use or placement of
such resources is not the most appropriate means to achieve and maintain
operational control over the international border at such location."
In other words, Border Patrol would have the leeway to decide which type of fencing was appropriate in various regions.
The amendment was included in a federal budget bill in late 2007 despite
being condemned by legislators such as Reps. Peter King, R-N.Y., and
Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who argued the amendment effectively killed the
border fence promised in the 2006 bill.
At the time, Hutchison told the San Antonio Express-News, "Border
patrol agents reported that coyotes and drug-runners were altering
their routes as fencing was deployed, so the amendment gives our agents
discretion to locate the fence where necessary to achieve operational
control of our border."
DHS reports there are currently 36.3 miles of double-layered fencing,
the kind with enough gap that you can drive a vehicle between the
layers. But the majority of the fencing erected has been vehicle
barriers, which are designed to stop vehicles rather than people (see here), and single-layer pedestrian fencing (see here). [Links go to generic Border Patrol site with pictures, not to specific picture of fences].
The design specifications vary depending on geography and climate
characteristics, but according to the Customs and Border Patrol website,
it includes "post on rail" steel set in concrete; steel picket-style
fence set in concrete; vehicle bollards similar to those found around
federal buildings; "Normandy" vehicle fence consisting of steel beams;
and concrete jersey walls with steel mesh.
That's not enough for some opponent of illegal immigration. "They are
interpreting the requirements of the Secure Fence Act in a way that is
clearly contrary to what Congress intended," said Mark Krikorian,
executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors
tougher enforcement against illegal immigration.
There may be a role for the vehicle barriers, but "your grandmother
could hop over them," he said, and "that's not what Congress thought it
was voting for."
Krikorian said, "The president's claim that the job is done is misleading."
A Government Accountability Office report
on border security, issued in February 2011, paints a mixed picture.
The report acknowledges progress on the fences, as well as hundreds more
miles deemed to be under "operational control," but "DHS reports that
the southwest border continues to be vulnerable to cross-border illegal
activity, including the smuggling of humans and illegal narcotics."
T.J. Bonner, retired president of the National Border Patrol Council,
the union that represents all the front-line border patrol agents, said
the type of fencing is less important than whether the border is
secure.
It is estimated that for every person caught (Border Patrol reported
apprehending over 445,000 illegal entrants in 2010) two more get by,
Bonner said. "To me, that doesn't seem like border security."
But is it accurate for Obama to claim that "the fence is now basically complete"?
DHS reports that there is now fencing for 649 of the 652 miles described
in the Secure Fence Act of 2006. But the vast majority of the
requirement was met with vehicle barriers and single-layer pedestrian
fence. The original act specifically called for double-layer fencing,
and only 36.3 miles of double-layered fencing currently exist. However,
the act was later amended to allow Border Security the discretion to
determine which type of fencing was appropriate for different areas.
So Obama can make a case that the vehicle barriers and single-layer
pedestrian fences meet the amended letter of the law. But we also think
Obama misleads, particularly when he mocks Republican opponents, saying
that even though the fence has been built, "They'll want want a higher
fence. Maybe they’ll need a moat. Maybe they want alligators in the
moat." The Border Patrol has not gone "above and beyond" what
Republicans requested, as Obama claimed. What they originally requested
was a double-layer fence, and they didn't get much of it. And so we rate
Obama's statement Barely True. [Changed to "Mostly False" per Editor's note below] via Free Rep.
.
"Editor's note: This statement was rated Barely True when it was
published. On July 27, 2011, we changed the name for the rating to
Mostly False."
"The Secure Fence Act (PL 109-367), passed just before the 2006
midterm elections, authorizes 700 miles of fencing along the Mexican
border. Then-House Homeland Security Chairman Peter T. King, R-N.Y.,
sponsored the bill, and Hunter was an original cosponsor and author of
its fencing provisions. The bill passed after a comprehensive immigration
overhaul failed last session; the defeat of the Senate immigration bill
(S 1639) late last month means a comprehensive immigration overhaul is
also unlikely this session.
The Secure Fence Act says “the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide for least 2 layers of
reinforced fencing, the installation of additional physical barriers,
roads, lighting, cameras and sensors” at five specific stretches of
border totaling approximately 700 miles."...
7/11/2007, "Border Fence Construction Not Moving Fast Enough for Rep. Hunter," NY Times, by Eleanor Stables, CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY
.
.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment