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| Mexican government predicts border fence probably won't be built |
| 2006-10-04 |
| Mexico on Wednesday predicted that the United States will likely never build 1,125 kilometers (700 miles) of new fencing along the border that divides the two nations. President Vicente Fox's spokesman Ruben Aguilar said the U.S. Congress is unlikely to approve funding needed to finish the project. "There is no money to build it, so it won't be built," Aguilar told reporters. "Even though the wall was approved, there is no funding." No one knows how much the border fence will cost, but Congress sent a bill to the White House making a $1.2 billion downpayment on it. A 14-mile segment of fence under construction in San Diego is costing $126.5 million. On Monday, the Mexican government sent a diplomatic note to Washington criticizing last week's U.S. Senate vote to authorize the new fencing as part of congressional efforts to combat illegal immigration. And on Tuesday, all eight parties in Mexico's Congress joined forces to exhort Fox to use all the diplomatic means at his disposal to try to stop the construction of the fences. The bill must still be signed into law by President George W. Bush. Mexico is lobbying Bush to veto it. U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Tuesday U.S. officials were talking to Mexico about the issue of immigration, but he did not give details. Aguilar said on Tuesday his country still wants a comprehensive immigration reform that would allow more people to migrate to the United States legally. "The wall will be useless and unworkable," Aguilar said, adding that it would affect the environment, ecology, and even the reproduction of some species. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #9 Catch and release guts any of the border control efforts. Until it is made massively unprofitable to smuggle cheap labor across the border, then nothing will happen. (BTW, I have nothing against the individual workers other than their flouting of our laws. The ones that I have inevitably come in contact with seem to be good people except for the fact they shouldn't be here.) |
| Posted by: RWV 2006-10-04 22:09 |
| #8 can we offload some surplus landmines too |
| Posted by: Jesing Ebbease3087 2006-10-04 21:11 |
| #7 btw - Bush signed it, Senor Fox. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-10-04 20:04 |
| #6 not a chance, and the desert portion can easily be a virtual detection/apprehend/ship their ass back region. A solid triple fence is NOT necessary, sea to gulf. The Mexicans are sure getting uppity about something that will never get built, huh? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-10-04 19:45 |
| #5 I don't think they'll actually build it either. They passed it and gained themselves two years for some other issue to come up and distract us rubes. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2006-10-04 19:18 |
| #4 There is no money to build it, so it won't be built," Aguilar We'll cut aid to Mexico and Pakistan and spend the leftovers here at home. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-10-04 18:58 |
| #3 If it's so certain to be useless and unworkable, then why are you scumbags so afraid of it? FOAD, Mexico. I'd like to see us shoot every illegal that comes across the border and throw the wounded/dead bodies back on your side--just like you do with Guatemala. You Mexes are lying, hypocritical bastards and the sooner we break relations with you, close the border, and let you stew in your own piss, the better. |
| Posted by: mac 2006-10-04 18:54 |
| #2 That's a pretty damned smug pronouncement for a bunch of two-bit corrupt dictators. Let's prove them wrong, shall we? |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-04 18:53 |
| #1 You keep using that work won't. I do not think it means what you think it means. |
| Posted by: Inigo Montoya 2006-10-04 18:53 |