Schmidt Wrote: Jared -- I agree with you. The border is more secure than ever. Can it ever be 100 percent secure? No. Not without spending billions and billions more. While some kind of deal might be worked out in the Senate, I am doubtful that the misguided Tea Party types in the House will ever go along. The Economist has a good article discussing border security this month: The Economist, June 22, 2013: Secure Enough Spending billions more on fences and drones will do more harm than good In 2007 when Congress last tackled immigration reform, 15,000 Border Patrol agents patrolled the border. That number has increased to 21,000 today and it is augmented by ten predator drones, tower-mounted cameras over the deserts and ground sensors monitoring land movements. The think tank, the Migration Policy Institute, estimates border enforcement costs at $18 billion a year, "more than all other federal criminal-law-enforcement agencies combined." And Republicans are asking for even more spending? It's absolutely insane. They are paranoic. There are a lot better ways to spend our tax payer dollars. The Economist also cites the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report recently released on June 18th. The report forecasts that "the Senate immigration bill would reduce the federal budget deficit by $197 billion over the next decade and $700 billion over the decade after that. By bringing illegal workers into the mainstream and allowing more visas for newcomers, both skilled and unskilled, it would raise American output and productivity. The CBO predicts that the economy would be 5.4% bigger in 2033 because of the bill, and that average wages would be slightly higher." That kind of definitive analysis is rejected or ignored by those seeking to scuttle the bill. The Economist has included in their article charts of illegal border crossings since 1999 and border enforcement since 1927. It is worth reading the entire article at the above link.
johnnycee Wrote: I like it when various Senators proclaimed that the 700 mile fence will be part of any immigration reform bill, only problem is that the the fence was already authorized back in "06" and then only 7 miles of it has been built. This is all a dog and pony show for only those interested in Immigration Reform, more border Agents, sure, until the first round of Budget cuts comes around, I didn't hear much about Employers being penalized for hiring these low wage workers, although they claim this is necessary to keep costs to the consumer down but we know it's just to secure a larger profit margin for them. The cheapest labor is in third world countries and their products are not all that cheap, so yes, I believe this all a show, not as elaborate as a Las Vegas Revue, but a show none then less.