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DHS Watchdog Warns 'Fence' Cost Will Grow
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Edited | RP Nov 16, 2006 01:59pm |
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| Category | Analysis |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Thursday, November 16, 2006 07:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The Bush administration's proposal to secure the nation's borders with a high-tech "virtual fence" is likely to cost far more than the $2 billion that industry analysts initially estimated, possibly up to $30 billion, a government watchdog agency warned yesterday.
According to the Homeland Security Department inspector general, the ambitious plan to deploy sensors, cameras and other surveillance technology along 6,000 miles of the borders with Canada and Mexico runs the risk of runaway costs because of poorly defined objectives and a vastly overstretched contracting staff at the department.
The dramatically higher estimates, delivered to House members by Inspector General Richard L. Skinner, injected a new dose of skepticism into the national debate to curb illegal immigration, which has focused in large part on gaining control of the borders.
Critics have charged that a Republican-led Congress and President Bush approved legislation with much fanfare this fall authorizing the construction of a 700-mile fence along a third of the Mexican frontier without funding the work.
"If it's going to cost 8 to 30 billion dollars," asked Deborah W. Meyers, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, ". . . is that really the most effective way of achieving the policy goal?"
Bush administration allies said the report underscores the need for a guest-worker program, which the president has proposed, to meet the demand for labor in this nation and reduce pressure at the border by illegal crossers. |
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