President George W.Bush Signs the US – Mexican Border Fence Bill … its a Start … Kinda

This morning President George Bush signed the “Secure Fence Act” into law.

President Bush signed a bill Thursday authorizing 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to give Republican candidates a pre-election platform for asserting they’re tough on illegal immigration. (Yahoo News)

It is about time someone  does something, even though it is far to little with the threat at hand. A note to all politicians, this best not be window dressing. Nor should this be the end.

“We have a responsibility to enforce our laws,” he said. “We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility serious.”

Border security is an important topic as it deals with the issue of illegal immigration and national security. If politicians do not think that this issue does not resonate with the electorate they best think again. If you do not think this will be an issue in 2006 and especially in 2008, you are foolish.

Take a listen to what people who really care about border security have to say. On Sunday Dana Pretzer of Scared Monkeys radio discussed these very issues and the impact of border security on the upcoming elections  with Carmen Mercer, Vice President,  of The Minute Man Project. (interview: 12:00 — 29:40) Below are just some of Carmen’s comments:

• “Well we have always thought that terrorists have gone, have come across the border and entered this   country illegally and we  now we have the proof with the report from the Tancredo office …”
• “… even though the Senate has approved the 700 miles of fence and the President still has to sign it …”
• “Our goal is really  to out Minutemen into our Government … to make sure  that the country  is put back into its original state that it was supposed to be in.”
• “The American public is not going to sit back. You know, its an avalanche that cannot be stopped anymore and we have been doing this for almost 5 years Dana and we’re certainly are not going to stop now. We will  not stop until our border are secure …”

Also Michelle Malkin has some great points regarding the “Border Security Symbolism“.

Bush Signs U.S.-Mexico Border Fence Bill

Before signing the Secure Fence Act of 2006 in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Bush said the new law would help modernize the 2,000-mile border. But he said more must be done to achieve immigration reform, and he repeated his call for a program that would allow U.S. employers to bring in guest workers and would offer legal status to many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants nationwide. (Washington Post)

Secure Fence Act Signed by the President

The American people demand action to stem the tide of illegal immigration and Republicans have responded by dramatically increasing physical barriers … by adding 3,736 new Border Patrol agents … by building 9,150 new detention beds … by hiring 1,373 detention personnel … by ending catch-and-release … and by more than quadrupling spending on border and immigration enforcement over the last five years. (Volpac)