Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has successfully negotiated the building of a fence to enforce our border with Mexico. According to the AP, Chertoff was able to bypass environmental laws utilizing powers granted to him by Congress:
The plan soon raised environmental concerns because it replaced a planned fence that small wildlife could pass through with a 16- to 18-foot high impermeable concrete wall.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it could not sign off on the project, but last month Chertoff announced he was using authority Congress granted him to bypass three dozen laws, including many environmental statutes, to build hundreds of miles of fence in Hidalgo County and elsewhere along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The agreement, hammered out between federal and county attorneys late Friday, includes two timelines for the project — a substantial completion date of Dec. 30 and a full completion date of March 31, 2009. County attorney Steve Crain declined to elaborate on what constituted substantial completion.
Any reasonable effort to curb and eventually end illegal immigration will depend on utilizing multiple techniques to deter the illegal aliens from making the journey including law enforcement, cracking down on those who hire illegal immigrants, utilizing the e-verify system, and yes building physical barriers.
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