A Great Wall?

In a last-minute action just before leaving to campaign for the upcoming midterm elections, the Senate passed the Secure Fence Act, which authorizes 700 new miles of fence on the U.S.-Mexico border. The controversial fence, which if built in its entirety would divide approximately one third of the southern border, is a topic of conversation in local and national political campaigns. The House had already approved the bill, and President Bush said Wednesday he would sign it.

Pro-immigration border activists are calling the measure an outrage, a political stunt, a gimmick that has everything to do with the congressional elections drawing near, while anti-immigration groups counter that the fence is a positive first step to securing the porous southern border. Environmentalists decry the potential hazards of the fence, while Mexico's outgoing President Vicente Fox condemns it as "shameful."

Border expert David Shirk is an author, political science professor at the University of San Diego and director of the Trans-Border Institute, which was created in 1994 to promote border-related scholarship. NEWSWEEK’s Jamie Reno talked with Shirk about the proposed border fence. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Do you believe the Secure Fence Act is a viable legislative solution to the illegal-immigration problem?

David Shirk: Well, what is viable in the legislature is always not equally viable in reality. As it stands, the Secure Fence Act would provide additional fencing for only 700 miles, which accounts for about a third of the 2,000-mile border. While Congress has also provided funds for a high-tech system of cameras, sensors, aerial drones, radar and satellites, this strategy doesn't address other important aspects of undocumented immigration. About a third of unauthorized residents in this country don't sneak across the border; they simply overstay their visas. In addition, more migrants who do cross at the border are coming in with false papers, by boat or through underground tunnels like the one found recently at San Ysidro [south of San Diego.]. If not accompanied by other control measures that focus on employers, for example, the current initiative will simply redirect more of the flow to these other channels.

Some see the fence as more of a political stunt than a legitimate political measure. Do you agree or disagree?