Fencing the borders

Putting fences on the borders between the United States and Mexico and between the United States and Canada to limit travel into the U. S. would be costly enough to warrant a careful analysis of the objectives and an unflinching look at the probable outcomes of the efforts. Most of the expenses come in four phases: design, construction, maintenance and surveillance. These costs would all be borne by taxpayers.

The design of the barriers involves coordinated research and planning by several consulting, engineering and construction firms.

Construction must produce fences that are high enough to deter all but the most determined people from climbing or flying over them and deep enough to deter anyone from trying to dig under them. And the costs for design and construction are only the beginning of the outlays.

Fences require maintenance. Harsh climates attack all materials as soon as they are exposed. Weather alone can start processes that threaten the structural integrity of various components.

Virtual fences offer an alternative to concrete and razor wire. But they are not cheap and may be much more vulnerable to the elements and to destructive humans than their material counterparts. And they could be tricky: they might generate too many false alarms.

Furthermore, no fence, whether material or virtual, will keep everyone from getting by. At best a fence will prevent most attempts to cross. At least it should slow any attempt and give authorities enough time to capture violators. So in addition to design, construction and maintenance, there must be surveillance.

Remote visual surveillance involves the deployment of many cameras and the employment of personnel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to watch the monitors. Drones flying along the borders offer another way to detect attempts at crossing. But no present authority is likely to want them used to attack people; they would be used only as mobile cameras that alert border patrols to apprehend wayward individuals.

Designing, building, repairing and monitoring fences along America's borders to the north or south would involve great costs, and the expenditures may not result in commensurate benefits.

Recently, illegal immigration to the United States from Mexico has declined. This is more likely the result of the sorry state of the American economy than increased effectiveness in law enforcement. The chief reason for illegal immigration from Mexico is the lure of earnings from work. Given that Americans are willing to pay them (relatively low wages), many Mexicans are willing to suffer significant hardships in attempts to enter the United States. If they did not profit from coming here, most would not try to do so. The Americans who knowingly use illegal immigrants to obtain cheap labor should bear as much of the blame for illegal immigration as the people who have come here illegally looking to garner a few American dollars.

There are better solutions to the problems associated with illegal immigration than fences. America needs hard-working people. We ought to invite them to come out of the shadows and take steps to gain citizenship. We would all benefit. For the security of the nation, we want to identify newcomers. For the health of our businesses and industries, we depend on a steady supply of labor. And for the tremendous costs of public services, our governments need more revenue; new taxpayers will help reduce our deficits.

As long as the rewards for entering America are greater than the hurdles we erect to keep people out, people will try to adopt the American way of life to the extent that they can. America will only grow stronger by including all those who share our vision and who are allowed to participate fully in the realization of the American dream.