Border Fence a Waste of Money -- If Deterring Undocumented Migration is the Goal

The Christian Science Monitor has a story that confirms what ImmigrationProf has been saying for years.  It quotes Wayne Cornelius, director emeritus of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California in San Diego, who based on 4,000 interviews concludes that "The existing border fortifications do not keep undocumented migrants out of the US. Not even half are being apprehended on any given trip to the border, and of those who are apprehended, the success rate on the second or third try is upwards of 95 percent. . . . There is no reason to believe that additional investments in the fence project – both physical fencing and the new `virtual fence' – will create an effective deterrent . . . ."

The end result of the much ballyhooed border fence -- little effect on reducing the number of undocumented migrants to the United States but, at the same time, contributing to the deaths of  thousands of migrants (who, to avoid the fence, trek through desolate and inclement routes where they are more likely to die from the elements).  We in the United States have long all been on notice of the deadly consequences of our border enforcement policies, including the fence..

KJ