Global Security Challenge

Mr. Chertoff, Tear Down That Wall! - more innovative technologies needed for US borders

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to put some 700 miles of fencing along the border between the United States and Mexico by the end of George Bush's term, according to an article by the Economist last week:

"Opposition to the fence is running high in Texas, partly because heavy-handedness from the DHS has inflamed the situation. In April Michael Chertoff, the cabinet-level secretary of the department, announced that he would use his powers of waiver to brush aside more than 30 laws in order to begin building this July... The project will certainly be expensive. A 2006 report put the cost of building and maintaining the entire border fence at $49 billion over 25 years. That money could be spent on more sophisticated technology, such as sensors or drones."

Using less invasive technologies, instead of a 1960s style stone wall, might be a better way to achieve the government's goals of tighter borders without taking on its own people, no?

 

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