Bush To Waive Local Laws To Get Border Fence Built

Sounds... mildly promising. But I've been down the mildly promising road before.

he Bush administration plans to use its authority to bypass more than 30 laws and regulations in an effort to finish building 670 miles of fence along the southwest U.S. border by the end of this year, federal officials said Tuesday.

Invoking the two legal waivers — which Congress authorized — would cut through bureaucratic red tape and sidestep environmental laws that currently stand in the way of the Homeland Security Department building 267 miles of fencing in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, according to officials familiar with the plan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the waivers had not yet been announced.

The move would be the biggest use of legal waivers since the administration started building the fence, and it would cover a total of 470 miles along the Southwest border. Previously, the department has used its waiver authority for two portions of fence in Arizona and one portion in San Diego.

As of March 17, there were 309 miles of fencing in place, leaving 361 to be completed by the end of the year to meet the department's goal. Of those, 267 miles are being held up by federal, state and local laws and regulations, the officials said.

I'm 99% sure that "308 miles of fencing in place" is pure bullshit, as the Bush Administration counts anti-vehicle barriers as "fencing." As if you can't just get out of a frickin' car, cross the border on foot, and get picked up by another coyote waiting just beyond it.

This is somewhat infuriating -- a Peruvian woman of Japanese descent shows off how to breach a border fence on a television show. She doesn't quite make it through, but pretty darn close. Only a gross physical anomaly seems to prevent her.

Thanks to Duane.

posted by Ace at 03:35 PM

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