US immigration and border patrol defend their new 'super-fence'
February 15 2010 by Liam Clifford
The new ‘super-fence’ on the Otay Mountain, covering a distance of 3.6 miles between the Mexican border and San Diego has been criticised by some today for the cost involved in the project.
The fence which stands at 18-foot tall and is a deterring construct of solid steel at the ridge of the 3,500-foot peak, cost the US immigration authorities (or the Government depending on how you view the allocation of budgets) $57.7million.
The arguments on both sides have of late been coming thick and fast, on what is the costliest stretch of fencing the Mexican border has had the privilege of hosting.
US Border official, Jerome Conlin said that the fence aimed at "…no longer conceding this area to smugglers,"
Critics however have cited the fact that immigrants using this route to enter the US have to endure a 3-day trek across some of the harshest terrain on the border in order to scale the ridge, often US immigration officials simply apprehend the immigrants at the end of their journey.
Richard Kite another US border patrol man said this;
"You simply don't need a fence. It's such harsh terrain it's difficult to walk, let alone drive,"
"There's no reason to disrupt the land when the land itself is a physical barrier."
Illegal immigration into the US has of late slowed, this has been attributed to the US economy, this has been reflected in the number of immigrants using this particular way into the US drop off completely. However US immigration warn that the route will again become popular sure enough as immigration across the border and into the US will return to the level it was.
The fact remains though that after scaling a 3,500-foot, 3-day trek through tarantula and hazardous terrain that they will then be deterred by a 18-foot high fence.
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