http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-the-us-build-a-wall-on-its-mexican-border Opposing Views - Should the U.S. Build a Wall on Its Mexican Border? http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/the-point-is-it-does-more-harm-than-good Far from freeing up personnel, a fence actually requires more Border Patrol agents and other personnel in order to function effectively. We are already seeing that the fence requires a huge amount of maintenance in the presence of floods, erosion... Center for Bio Diversity Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:41:23 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/the-point-is-it-does-more-harm-than-good http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/this-boondoggle-is-neither-simple-nor-a-fix Interesting that Mr. Cerda does not mention why the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. has grown so much lately. Millions have stayed in recent years as a direct result of the increased dangers of crossing back and forth, rather... Center for Bio Diversity Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:37:16 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/this-boondoggle-is-neither-simple-nor-a-fix http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/what-about-the-purple-people-eater-breeding-ground-the-cost Our history of failed immigration control and reform is not completely devoid of genuine efforts at border control and immigration enforcement.  I personally witnessed many government officers and employees work tirelessly to achieve our laws... Victor X. Cerda Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:05:12 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/what-about-the-purple-people-eater-breeding-ground-the-cost http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-fence-will-not-stop-illegal-immigration-and-your-point-is I agree that whoever believes a single strategy, such as building a fence, will solve all of our illegal immigration problems and create immigration utopia needs to get a reality check.  The crux of our illegal immigration problem is too... Victor X. Cerda Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:04:52 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-fence-will-not-stop-illegal-immigration-and-your-point-is http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/but-it-is-an-unfriendly-gesture-to-our-neighbors Somehow, American neighborhoods have managed to survive despite the multitude of fences separating loving neighbors.  There have been no civil wars and in fact some may argue the fences have prevented such outbreaks and preserved the... Victor X. Cerda Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:04:38 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/but-it-is-an-unfriendly-gesture-to-our-neighbors http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/exhibit-12-million-our-broken-borders There are at least 12 million reasons why a fence should be built.  It has been over 20 years since the U.S. Congress last implemented immigration reform to address our broken borders.  Over the 20 years, and following implementation of a... Victor X. Cerda Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:00:43 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/exhibit-12-million-our-broken-borders http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/maybe-mexico-can-learn-from-canada Regrettably, the United States must now follow-through on congressional mandates and build a border fence or wall along the land border with Mexico. The fence offends Mexicans because it is a symbol of distrust. The Bush administration was... Christopher Sands Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:00:40 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/maybe-mexico-can-learn-from-canada http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/in-the-1990s-us-got-tough-on-both-land-bordersand-canada-responded In response to the first World Trade Center bombing, Congress passed a law in 1996 requiring that U.S. border officials keep a record of everyone who enters or exits the United States. Along with some in the United States who disagreed with the new... Christopher Sands Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:00:33 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/in-the-1990s-us-got-tough-on-both-land-bordersand-canada-responded http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/why-no-wall-on-the-canadian-border The United States does not have to build a wall along the land border with Canada. Why not? Governments in Canada, both federal and provincial, have developed close ties with U.S. counterparts, particularly in the area of law enforcement and... Christopher Sands Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:59:36 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/why-no-wall-on-the-canadian-border http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-government-knows-better While Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff and other federal bureaucrats have repeatedly insisted that they are considering environmental concerns as they move forward with fence construction, their claims are... Center for Bio Diversity Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:58:32 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-government-knows-better http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/waiver-of-democracy In the rush to build the fence and score political points, Congress has handed federal managers a powerful new legal tool, which has been employed to ignore the serious and obvious consequences of such a policy and overcome the thoughtful objections... Center for Bio Diversity Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:57:08 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/waiver-of-democracy http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/sacrifice-for-nothing Let us address what we are being asked to sacrifice on the altar of immigration enforcement vs. what is being gained. The federal government, having spent billions of dollars on a failed strategy to militarize the border region, now proposes to... Center for Bio Diversity Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:55:44 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/sacrifice-for-nothing http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/slash-vs-trash-is-a-false-dichotomy In light of the failed policies that have created such chaos along the border, it is prudent to revisit the argument of environmental damage by immigrants vs. that of enforcement activities. Many fence supporters beat the drum that immigrants are... Center for Bio Diversity Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:55:32 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/slash-vs-trash-is-a-false-dichotomy http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/environmental-damage-is-feds-fault In assessing the current rush to fence off the U.S. border with Mexico, it is important to recall how we got to this moment in political time. The damage that is occurring in rural and wild areas along the border is a direct result of a federal... Center for Bio Diversity Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:55:22 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/environmental-damage-is-feds-fault http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-border-wall-would-be-a-new-berlin-wall There is a world of difference between a wall to keep people in and a wall to keep people out. The purpose of the Berlin Wall was to hold people in so that their government could oppress and dominate them. The purpose of a secure American border is... AICF Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:55:20 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-border-wall-would-be-a-new-berlin-wall http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-border-wall-can-make-a-statement In an age of globalism, a border wall can make a statement that countries do matter. Unfortunately, many of America’s elites don’t see things this way. The Council on Foreign Relations, and organization of this country’s movers and shakers... AICF Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:55:18 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-border-wall-can-make-a-statement http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-wall-can-contribute-to-border-security A border wall by itself cannot stop illegal immigration. But in conjunction with other enforcement strategies, it can do much to stem the flow coming across the border. An example is what happened in the San Diego Sector of the border after... AICF Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:55:14 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-wall-can-contribute-to-border-security http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-fence-cannot-be-built-without-undocumented-immigrant-labor The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau found that foreign-born workers held one in five construction jobs in 2006; in Texas , where the fence is being built, the percentage is unquestionably much higher. Perry Vaughn... MALDEF Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:55:08 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-fence-cannot-be-built-without-undocumented-immigrant-labor http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-fence-will-destroy-the-environment-and-violate-property-rights The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) exercised its power, granted by Congress and the REAL ID Act, to bypass 34 federal laws to complete 500 miles of fence in Texas , New Mexico , Arizona , and California . The list... MALDEF Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:54:42 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-fence-will-destroy-the-environment-and-violate-property-rights http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-fence-is-exorbitantly-expensive According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), the cost of building and maintaining a double set of steel fences along 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border could be as much as $49 billion over the expected 25-year life span... MALDEF Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:54:13 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-fence-is-exorbitantly-expensive