$1billion 'virtual fence' to keep Mexican immigrants and smugglers out of the US scrapped for being too expensive

The controversial 'virtual fence' on the US border with Mexico has been scrapped after the project was dogged by technical problems, financial over-runs and schedule delays.

The Secure Border Initiative-network (SBInet)- a high-tech surveillance system of video cameras, radar, sensors and other technologies designed to catch illegal immigrants and smugglers trying to cross the border - has been cancelled by the Obama administration.

Crossing the line: Signs for the US border in Tijuana, in the Mexican state of Baja California

The fence, which covers just 53 miles in two regions of Arizona of the 2,000-mile border, has cost taxpayers nearly $1billion dollars since its inception in 2005, according to a homeland security report.

Janet Napolitano, US Homeland Security Secretary, cited the project's high cost and persistent technical problems as among the reasons behind the decision...

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2 girls undermine entire US border strategy in under 18 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHjKBjM1ngw

roypgermano | December 16, 2010

http://www.TheOtherSideOfImmigration.com Since the mid-1990s, the US has built fencing at various points along the southern border in an attempt to deter would-be immigrants from Mexico. Building the fence isn't cheap. On average, each mile of border fence costs US taxpayers about $4 million to build and will cost another $6.5 billion over the next 20 years to repair and maintain.

Are we getting our money's worth? Is the border fence an effective deterrent? To find out, I asked two young women—both only about 5'5"—to see if they could climb the wall. Check it out...

If we're really serious about reducing rates of undocumented immigration, we could make more effective use of our tax dollars. Those of you who have seen my documentary, The Other Side of Immigration, might remember this statement from the end of the film: "Why spend money on a border fence when we could invest in highways, factories, and greenhouses. How many greenhouses could we build for the cost of that wall? If we invest in Mexico, people won't want to leave."

What do you think? Would spending a dollar to reduce poverty in Mexico be a more effective way to reduce undocumented immigration than spending a dollar to build more fencing along the border?

Homeland Security Department Blamed for Border Fence Project Delays, Budget Problems

The troubled four-year-old federal program to install a virtual fence along the 2,000-mile U.S. border with Mexico is behind schedule and overbudget -- and the Department of Homeland Security is at least partly to blame, for not adequately policing contractor Boeing, a new watchdog report concludes...

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