One of the many unnoticed projects included in the massive “$800,000,000,000″ economic stimulus plan is “$100,000,000″ for Boeing Inc. to resume work on the troubled “virtual fence”, the “$8,000,000,000″ 2006 plan to construct a highly sophisticated electronic barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico.

As a result of the technical problems, the Department of Homeland Security put the virtual Wall project on hold in 2008 after spending billions to make technology take the place of a physical fence. In total, DHS built only 28 miles of virtual Wall in a pilot project.

The debate over constructing Walling on the US-Mexico is not new

The Clinton administration, for example, passed legislation in the mid-90s that called for Walling around the major US metropolitan centers on the border.

Yet, the extent of the inflow of illegal immigration (roughly 500,000 annually) as well as the growing Hispanic demographic in the United States has caused many people to view a more extensive walling system as increasingly urgent.

The Wall is intentionally placed in the least dangerous border crossings, while leaving open treacherous routes. Given the strong desire to cross, many will attempt to make these crossing fatally. Hundreds die each year already. Hundreds more could be expected. After the construction of the San Diego fence, many illegal immigrants began crossing through the Arizona desert, which caused many of San Diego’s border agents to move out there. According to T.J. Bonner, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, the main union for Border Patrol agents, “Tucson now has 2,600 plus agents. San Diego has lost 1,000 agents. Guess where the traffic is going? Back to San Diego. San Diego is the most heavily fortified border in the entire country, and yet it’s not stopping people from coming across.

From west to east, the border city twinnings and border crossings include the following:

1. San Diego, California (San Ysidro) – Tijuana, Baja California (San Diego-Tijuana Metro.) (I-5 and Mexico 1 highway)
2. Otay Mesa, California – Tijuana, Baja California (California State Route 905 and Boulevard Aztecas)
3. Tecate, California – Tecate, Baja California (California State Route 135 and Mexico 3 highway)
4. Calexico, California – Mexicali, Baja California
5. Calexico, California (Eastern border checkpoint) – Mexicali, Baja California
6. Andrade, California – Los Algodones, Baja California
7. San Luis, Arizona – San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora (US 95 and Mexico 2 highway)
8. Lukeville, Arizona – Sonoita, Sonora
9. Sasabe, Arizona – Altar, Sonora
10. Nogales, Arizona – Nogales, Sonora
11. Naco, Arizona – Naco, Sonora
12. Douglas, Arizona – Agua Prieta, Sonora
13. Antelope Wells, New Mexico – El Berrendo, Chihuahua
14. Columbus, New Mexico – Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua
15. Santa Teresa, New Mexico – San Jerónimo, Chihuahua
16. El Paso, Texas – Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
17. Fabens, Texas – Práxedis G. Guerrero, Chihuahua
18. Presidio, Texas – Ojinaga, Chihuahua
19. Heath Canyon, Texas – La Linda, Coahuila (closed)
20. Del Rio, Texas – Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila
21. Eagle Pass, Texas – Piedras Negras, Coahuila
22. Laredo, Texas – Colombia, Nuevo León
23. Laredo, Texas – Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas
24. Falcon Heights, Texas – Presa Falcón, Tamaulipas
25. Roma, Texas – Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas
26. Rio Grande City, Texas – Ciudad Camargo, Tamaulipas
27. Mission, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas
28. Hidalgo, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas
29. Pharr, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas
30. Progreso Lakes, Texas – Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas
31. Los Indios, Texas – Matamoros, Tamaulipas
32. Brownsville, Texas – Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

References:

1. National Immigration Forum
2. US Chamber of Commerce[16]
3. American Immigration Lawyers Association
4. American Farm Bureau
5. National Association of Homebuilders
6. Catholic Charities USA
7. Associated Builders and Contractors
8. United Auto Workers
9. Families First, a conservative religious organization.
10. Federation for American Immigration Reform FAIR
11. Weneedafence.com - A project of the Let Freedom Ring Foundation, advocating constructing a “multi-element fence” along the US-Mexico border, similar to the Israeli fence.
12. The Minuteman Project – “a citizens’ Operation monitoring immigration”.
13. You Don’t Speak for Me, a Latino American group that favors border security and the enforcement of immigration laws.
14. Debatepedia
15. Border Angels