The virtual fence

Well, they tested the new virtual fence on February 13th. It was OK. For $15 MILLION it ought to be. And when Uncle Sam caught Boeing scamming them on the contract, they agreed to $2 MILLION in free support to compensate. (Why am I suspicious about that part of the deal?)

So, in the test they detected 100 people approaching the border, went out and rounded up 38, and the rest they said headed back into Mexico.

Here's a report from a former Immigration Department executive by the name of James Walsh. "On an inspection tour of the El Paso Border Patrol Sector, while interviewing an agent, I observed in the distance twelve illegal aliens dash through a split in a fence, and three Border Patrol agents give chase. The aliens spread out like a fireworks starburst; the agents apprehended three of them; and thus nine illegal aliens were on their way to mingle in El Paso or parts unknown. This snapshot, remember, was a 20-foot stretch of a 2,000-mile border."

When the alarm sounds, is the Border Patrol staffed to send out 100 agents if the sensors detect 100 illegals? Not likely. And it is unlikely that they will make a u-turn. There is zero extra risk in continuing north. If they get caught, they will be sent back; if not, they are home free.

As for the effectiveness of a virtual fence, would you install a virtual front door on your home? Sure, the alarm goes off but by the time someone gets to your home, the perp has stolen your laptop and anything else he can carry off in a hurry. (This argument isn't mine. It came from an essay by James Pinkerton in Newsday. He makes a good point.)

I'm thinking a locked front door is more of a deterrent. How about you? And frankly, it doesn't sound very cost-effective. $15 MILLION can buy a whole lot of fence.

In reality, the fence is less important than our efforts to tell illegals NO. NO to jobs. NO to identity theft. NO to citizenship for their babies. NO to amnesty. NO to free health care and education.