The Nexus

It is time to tear down old structures of our government. To be more specific, it is time to tear down some fences.

Over the next 20 years, 6.5 billion taxpayer dollars will be spent purely for maintaining the Mexico-United States border fence according to the federal government. But a look back at previous government expenditures reveals that the government often spends more than projected. So we can expect about $7 billion to be spent on this. That, coupled with the $2.9 billion the government has already spent building the fence, will add up to nearly 10 billion taxpayer dollars being spent on this fence.

Though the expenditures are massive, there are no measures in place that will ensure the fence is even remotely successful in deterring illegal immigration. 

There are currently 600 miles of fencing, broken into segments. As of last May, the fence has been partially destroyed by illegal immigrants crossing into the country more than 3,350 times.

This has all occurred since the fence’s inception during the Bush administration.

All of this money is being spent, and still no proven effectiveness. Just 3,500 examples that blatantly point to the impotency of the fence.

Despite the reality of the numbers, our government continues feeding money into the fence. However, according to the Government Accountability Office, the border fence is not likely to be significantly improved by the extra funding.

As citizens we must call out the government when so many taxpayer dollars are going towards an antiquated structure. What good is our $10 billion doing? How much more secure is our country now that the money’s been spent?

On the other hand, President Obama and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano have the option of investing the money differently. There are many options: divest some of the money from the fence, and instead try other programs. Try going after those who actually hire the illegal immigrants, who provide the incentive for the cross.

People immigrate illegally into this country to garner a life better than the one they had in their home country. The key part of this better life is having money to support them.

If the government cracked down on those hiring illegal immigrants, then there would be decreased incentive to cross into the United States.

This is not saying that we should advert all focus from the fence, that cracking down on the employers is the only facet the government should tackle, but instead that the government needs to expand their scope.

Spread the money to different programs. Don’t just focus on the fence.

For heaven’s sake, spending $10 billion of taxpayer money on the fence is bordering on ridiculous.