Mr. Speaker. building walls and fences is not a panacea and a "one size fits all" approach is a wholly unrealistic and inadequate means of securing the border. Although some communities seem to approve of border fences. many others do not. For instance. Alex Perrone. the Mayor of Calexico. Califomia. is opposed to additional fences. Calexico already has a border crossing as well as a chainlink fence that separates it from its Mexican neighbor. According to Mayor Perrone. the border towns have had a close relationship for more than 100 years. and a massive fence would strain their friendship and symbiotic relationship. Mayor Perrone believes that it would change how our neighbors view us and how we do business. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner W. Ralph Basham. it does not make sense to construct fences along the border. Stemming the flow of illegal immigration and drug trafficking requires a combination of manpower. technology. and infrastructure. not just barriers. History shows that even the most substantial walls can be breached. In California. the border fence has been circumvented by tunneling (20 tunnels have been discovered) and by going around both ends of the fence. This has diverted illegal traffic to more remote areas. but it has not stopped people from crossing. It just makes crossing more dangerous and increases reliance on professional smugglers.
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border crossing illegal immigration border fence Border Protection