By Felicia Persaud
Just when you thought the Republican circus of Presidential wannabes could not get anymore laughable, a black Republican named Herbert Cain has emerged as a possible front runner for the nomination, with ideas so ridiculous it makes even nutty Michel Bachman seem sane.
Cain recently stunned many when he claimed his solution to the problem of illegal immigration would be to build a Great Wall of Mexico that shocks – an electrified fence along the U.S. – Mexico border. That’s right – Cain went a step further than Bachman in not just supporting building a fence but electrifying it.
Which means Cain has no problem frying people trying to enter the country illegally! While under media fire, he initially backpedaled and said his comments were “a joke,” talking to reporters after a meeting with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona on October 17th, the retired pizza executive acknowledged he still believes in the need for a border fence “and it might be electrified.”
Once again proving my thinking all along – that Cain is nothing more than a pandering idiot, much like the whole slot of GOPers seeking to replace Barack Obama.
Cain, Bachman and the entire Republican slate, like their base, have no idea how to solve the problem of illegal immigration or they simply don’t want to face the facts.
The reality is building a fence is costly and stupid and will not solve the problem of illegal immigration – and the moderators including Anderson Cooper who gets to question these bumbling fools on immigration should get the facts right.
Here are the facts. The border between the United States and Mexico spans four U.S. state and totals 3,169 km in length. So far, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, it has completed a total of approximately 650 miles of pedestrian and vehicular fencing along the Southwest Border out of the 652 miles mandated by Congress.
The costs for a wall that would run the entire length of the border has been put by some experts as low as $851 million for a standard 10-foot prison chain link fence topped by razor wire. For another $362 million, the fence could be electrified and for a larger 12-foot tall, two-foot-thick concrete wall painted on both sides, that cost would run about $2 billion. At the end of the day, that cost could increase since the per mile costs to build the fencing varied considerably because of the type of fencing, topography, materials used, land acquisition costs, and labor costs, among other things.
Where will this money come from in this time of global recession? Most importantly, how long will this fence take to complete and what happens in the mean time, especially since its been proven that drug cartels build tunnels to get into the U.S. so no multi-billion dollar fence will keep anyone out.
There are 40 such tunnels that have been discovered since 9/11 on the southern border. One tunnel running from San Diego to Tijuana emerged on the U.S. side into a very modern warehouse.
Most importantly, more boots on the ground and modern drone technology at the border have been stepped up as is the unprecedented deportation of over 400,000 immigrants, under a Democratic government.
And yet, the problem remains! Why? Because at the end of the day there is no one solution but the need is for comprehensive immigration reform that addresses border security, the backlog on legal immigration and the need for work permits and a travel document for those who are moral, upstanding nationals living in the U.S. and who continue to keep the wheels of the economy churning.
The writer is founder of NewsAmericasNow, CaribPR Wire and Hard Beat Communications.
