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| Home Front: Politix |
| 2008-02-22 |
| A 28-mile "virtual fence" that will use radars and surveillance cameras to try to catch people entering the country illegally has gotten final government approval. Got any plans to nab these folks? Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Friday announced approval of the fence, built by the Boeing Co. and using technology the Bush administration plans to extend to other areas of the Arizona border, as well as sections of Texas. These projects could get under way as early as this summer, officials said. The virtual fence is part of a national plan to secure the southwest border with physical barriers and high-tech detection capabilities intended to stop illegal immigrants on foot and drug smugglers in vehicles. As of February 8, 295 miles of fencing had been constructed. The virtual fence is working. At what total present cost, if you include studies, headaches, constructions, public grumbling, maintenance, man hours needed to run after the folks who decide to try to sneak through, and illegal activities in the US such as crime and the economics of illegal workers? Seems to this uninformed observer that in the long run you'd do better to put up concrete and be done with it. On February 13, an officer in a Tucson command center -- 70 miles from the border -- noticed a group of about 100 people gathered at the border. The officer notified agents on the ground and in the air. Border Patrol caught 38 of the 100 people who tried to cross illegally, and the others went back into Mexico, a Homeland Security official said. The virtual fence system includes 98-foot unmanned surveillance towers that are equipped with an array of sophisticated technology including radar, sensor devices and cameras capable of distinguishing people from cattle at a distance of about 10 miles. The cameras are powerful enough to tell group sizes and whether people are carrying backpacks that may contain weapons or drugs. Last year the government withheld some of Boeing's payments for the system because technology the company used in the test project did not work properly. Boeing also was late in delivering the final product, known as Project 28. Because of this, the department received a $2 million credit from the company to go toward maintenance and logistical support of the system, the Homeland Security officials said. The government paid Boeing $15 million of its initial $20 million contract before determining that there were glitches in the test project. The department gave a conditional acceptance in December. Lawmakers have been skeptical of the product Boeing delivered. "This is not the end of the Project 28 story," Rep. Christopher Carney, D-Pennsylvania, said in a statement Thursday. "We need to understand what went wrong with Project 28 to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated and taxpayer dollars are not squandered." Carney chairs the House Homeland Security management subcommittee. Also Friday, Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Chertoff announced a 25 percent increase in the fines it will levy against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. It is the first boost in fines in nearly a decade. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency responsible for investigating illegal hirings, has stepped up its enforcement of the employer sanctions law in the past year, leading to a dozen major busts. Currently, fines range from $2,000 to $10,000 depending on the offense. The agency says some penalties could include at least six months in jail. |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #3 Can the taxpayers pay for the virtual fence with virtual dollars? Seems like the concrete fence in Israel is working reasonably well. Our govmint is so obsessed with electronic gizmos and bells and whistles when something less would do fine. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2008-02-22 17:06 |
| #2 Just how many roofers and landscapers do we really need in this country? We're running out of 4x4 pickups dammit! |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-02-22 16:59 |
| #1 How about limiting the IRS to virtual audits instead of real ones too? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-02-22 14:40 |