Build an Actual Fence

When you are building a house, you have to do things in a certain order. You could not, for instance, put the roof on before you have the walls up. In the same way, no plan for immigration reform will work until we control the border.

I have long advocated that the best solution along our porous southern border is an actual fence. I voted for 700 miles of fence along the border, and in 2007, I introduced legislation that called for a real fence across the entire border. Only a fraction of that fence has been completed.

Others believe that we should build a virtual fence. In Washington, they spent a billion dollars to find out what any farmer already knows. A virtual fence is not a fence. It will not keep horses in and it doesn't keep anything out.

Controlling our border is not only a matter of fairness; it is also a matter of national security. In Mexico, there is an undeclared war being fought by cartels and the government. We must fortify our southern border and our northern border before we lose control.

A fence is not the only answer to our immigration problem. But having the ability to enforce our laws is a good place to start. While our country is great because of immigration, it must be legal immigration.

We need to regain control of our borders and enforce the laws on the books. Until we control our own border, any other plan simply will not work.

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