US President George W. Bush signed a bill on Thursday that
authorizes the construction of 700 miles (1,126 km) of fence along
the US-Mexico border.
?"This bill will help protect the American people. This
bill will make our borders more secure," Bush said at the signing
ceremony.
The bill, The Secure Fence Act of 2006, authorizes the
construction of 700 miles additional fencing along the US border
with Mexico; authorizes more vehicle barriers, checkpoints, and
lighting to help prevent people from entering the country
illegally; and authorizes the Homeland Security Department to use
more advanced technology like cameras, satellites, and unmanned
aerial vehicles to monitor the border.
"We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this
responsibility serious," Bush said.
Terming the bill an important step toward immigration reform,
the president renewed his call for a temporary worker plan which he
said would help reduce pressure on the border.
He said the United States must face the reality that millions of
illegal immigrants were already in the country, and there was a
"rational middle ground between granting an automatic pass to
citizenship for every illegal immigrant and a program of mass
deportation."
"I look forward to working with Congress to find that middle
ground," he said.
While the fence was criticized by Mexican officials, Democrats
called the bill a political stunt and might risk straining
relations with Mexico.
The Republican-controlled Congress passed the legislation weeks
ago, but the bill was not sent to Bush when the mid-term
congressional elections were getting closer.
The bill to build a fence along the southern US border was "a
bumper-sticker solution that Republicans hope will provide cover
for their stunning failure to produce comprehensive immigration
reform," Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy said.
Mexican president-elect Felipe Calderon, who is in Ottawa for a
two-day visit on Thursday, called the US plan to build a wall on
the Mexican border a "grave error" and urged Canada to help oppose
the "deplorable action."
"The wall will not solve any problem. Humanity made a huge
mistake by building the Berlin Wall, and I believe that today the
United States is committing a grave error in building the wall on
our border," Calderon said during a press conference with Canadian
Prime Minister Stephen Harper after talks on bilateral and North
American issues.
Calderon said the wall will be expensive and counter-productive
to trade and security, predicting it will lead to the deaths of
more Mexicans at the southern border, where more than 400 died
trying to cross illegally last year.
He urged Canada to help "seek out more efficient mechanisms that
lead to greater security for the three nations without damaging our
interests as this wall does."
?
Calling Calderon a man of strong principle and Mexico a key trading
partner, Harper spoke out against "unnecessary barriers between our
countries," saying they act as barriers to trade and tourism. But
he stressed that there are differences in the situation between
Mexico and the United States and that between Canada and the
US.
(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2006)
