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5/16/2011, "Obama says the border fence is 'now basically complete'," PolitiFact, Robert Farley
"Sections of the fence on the Mexico border, like this one near San Miguel, Ariz., are designed primarily to stop vehicles." Politifact photo"In his speech in El Paso on immigration reform on May 10, 2011, President Obama declared that the fence along the border with Mexico is "now basically complete."
Still, he predicted that many Republican opponents won't be satisfied."We have gone above and beyond what was requested by the very Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement," Obama said. "All the stuff they asked for, we’ve done. But even though we’ve answered these concerns, I’ve got to say I suspect there are still going to be some who are trying to move the goal posts on us one more time."
"They'll want want a higher fence," Obama said. "Maybe they’ll need a moat. Maybe they want alligators in the moat. They’ll never be satisfied. And I understand that. That’s politics."
Fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border has long been a thorny political issue, so with Obama declaring mission accomplished, we decided to check it out....
DHS reports that there is now fencing for 649 of the 652 miles described in the Secure Fence Act of 2006. But the vast majority of the requirement was met with vehicle barriers and single-layer pedestrian fence. The original act specifically called for double-layer fencing, and only 36.3 miles of double-layered fencing currently exist. However, the act was later amended to allow Border Security the discretion to determine which type of fencing was appropriate for different areas....
You need to go back to the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which was passed by a Republican Congress and signed by President George W. Bush [on Oct. 26, 2006]. It authorized the construction of hundreds of miles of additional fencing along the border with Mexico. The act specified "at least two layers of reinforced fencing."
But the law was quietly altered in a significant way the following year....
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, proposed an amendment to give DHS the discretion to decide what type of fence was appropriate in different areas. The law was amended to read, "nothing in this paragraph shall require the Secretary of Homeland Security to install fencing, physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors in a particular location along an international border of the United States, if the Secretary determines that the use or placement of such resources is not the most appropriate means to achieve and maintain operational control over the international border at such location."
In other words, Border Patrol would have the leeway to decide which type of fencing was appropriate in various regions.
The amendment was included in a federal budget bill in late 2007 despite being condemned by legislators such as Reps. Peter King, R-N.Y., and Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who argued the amendment effectively killed the border fence promised in the 2006 bill.
At the time, Hutchison told the San Antonio Express-News, "Border patrol agents reported that coyotes and drug-runners were altering their routes as fencing was deployed, so the amendment gives our agents discretion to locate the fence where necessary to achieve operational control of our border."
DHS reports there are currently 36.3 miles of double-layered fencing, the kind with enough gap that you can drive a vehicle between the layers. But the majority of the fencing erected has been vehicle barriers, which are designed to stop vehicles rather than people (see here), and single-layer pedestrian fencing (see here). [Links go to generic Border Patrol site with pictures, not to specific picture of fences].
The design specifications vary depending on geography and climate characteristics, but according to the Customs and Border Patrol website, it includes "post on rail" steel set in concrete; steel picket-style fence set in concrete; vehicle bollards similar to those found around federal buildings; "Normandy" vehicle fence consisting of steel beams; and concrete jersey walls with steel mesh....
"They are interpreting the requirements of the Secure Fence Act in a way that is clearly contrary to what Congress intended," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors tougher enforcement against illegal immigration.
There may be a role for the vehicle barriers, but "your grandmother could hop over them," he said, and "that's not what Congress thought it was voting for."...
A Government Accountability Office report on border security, issued in February 2011...acknowledges progress on the fences...but "DHS reports that the southwest border continues to be vulnerable to cross-border illegal activity, including the smuggling of humans and illegal narcotics."...
It is estimated that for every person caught (Border Patrol reported apprehending over 445,000 illegal entrants in 2010) two more get by, [retired president of National Border Patrol Concil T.J.] Bonner said. "To me, that doesn't seem like border security."...
So Obama can make a case that the vehicle barriers and single-layer pedestrian fences meet the amended letter of the law. But we also think Obama misleads, particularly when he mocks Republican opponents, saying that even though the fence has been built, "They'll want want a higher fence. Maybe they’ll need a moat. Maybe they want alligators in the moat." The Border Patrol has not gone "above and beyond" what Republicans requested, as Obama claimed. What they originally requested was a double-layer fence, and they didn't get much of it. And so we rate Obama's statement Barely True. [Changed to "Mostly False" per Editor's note below]
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"Editor's note: This statement was rated Barely True when it was published. On July 27, 2011, we changed the name for the rating to Mostly False."
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Added:
2006 Fence Act didn't require fences, merely "authorized" them:
10/26/2006, "Fact Sheet: The Secure Fence Act of 2006"
"Authorizes the construction of hundreds of miles of additional fencing along our Southern border;...
The Fence Act also authorized "adding thousands of new beds" at detention facilities.
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7/11/2007, "Border Fence Construction Not Moving Fast Enough for Rep. Hunter," NY Times, by Eleanor Stables, Congressional Quarterly
"The Secure Fence Act (PL 109-367), passed just before the 2006 midterm elections, authorizes 700 miles of fencing along the Mexican border. Then-House Homeland Security Chairman Peter T. King, R-N.Y., sponsored the bill, and Hunter was an original cosponsor and author of its fencing provisions. The bill passed after a [so-called] comprehensive immigration overhaul failed last session; the defeat of the Senate immigration bill (S 1639) late last month means a [so-called] comprehensive immigration overhaul is also unlikely this session.
The Secure Fence Act says “the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide for least 2 layers of reinforced fencing, the installation of additional physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras and sensors” at five specific stretches of border totaling approximately 700 miles."...
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