Border

Since 2005 there has been construction on 850 miles of fence along the Mexican border. To this day the fence is not done and the government hopes to get 670 miles done by the end of the year. The fence along the border is not only costly but also ineffective and dangerous to the sensitive wildlife.
The fence at the border is not only costly right now but the cost will continue to rise because of the elements and people crossing the border. It is estimated that at the moment it costs four million dollars per mile for pedestrian fencing (Kariam 2008). It is also estimated that the cost for vehicle fencing is two million dollars per mile (Kariam 2008). It is predicted that in 25 years the upkeep of the fence will cost 16.4 million dollars to 70 million dollars per mile depending on the damage (Kariam 2008). The fence is costing and will cost tax payers a substantial amount of money.
People that live on the U.S. Mexico border attest that the border is ineffective. They say that even though that the border has cameras and motion sensors it is lightly patrolled (Kariam 2008). They attest that since the fence has been built they have seen more people crossing the border. They attest that they would not mind the border being there if it actually did what it was meant to do (Kariam 2008). Those people believe that the fence has not stopped border crossers it has just kept people from crossing in other areas (Kariam 2008). The fence has not stopped people from crossing illegally it has just made them cross at different places.
The San Pedro River at the border provides a habitat to a wide variety of small animals. It also serves as a watering hole for bigger animals (Kariam 2008). Because of these reasons the United States made the San Pedro River a national conservation area. The conservation area is 57,000 acres big (Kariam 2008). The fence that was built at the border cut through the conservation area and is threatening the ecosystem. This was said about the fence “it’s between 14 and 18 feet tall; it goes on for miles; it’s not something they can jump over or circumvent. It might not be very effective at stopping people but its stopping wildlife in their tracks” (Kariam 2008). Because the fence is being built through the habitat of these animals people fear that it could cause great turmoil on the environment.
The fence is having a great effect on tax payers and the environment surrounding it. The U.S. government should find a more effective way to stop illegal immigration that won’t hurt the environment and will not hurt tax payers’ wallets.

Sources:
Karaim, Reed. "CQ Researcher." Americas Border Fence 6 May 2008: 746-767.