It must be said that the American administration always had reason to worry. During Bush's presidency alone, the relevant services caught and deported more than six million illegal immigrants, the vast majority of whom entered the country precisely through the porous southern border. Illegals broke through existing fences, crossed the border on foot, by car, crawled through specially dug tunnels from which they were repeatedly extracted by U.S. rescuers, died by the dozens, but kept heading to the coveted north. Even a nearly threefold increase in funding for border infrastructure could not stop this invasion. A radical measure was needed that would prove that the Republicans were still strong in matters of national security.
And here either George Bush himself or someone from his "brain trust" recalled the story of the Great Wall of China, built thousands of years ago to protect the Celestial Empire from illegal steppe immigrants. Thus was born the law with the unambiguous name "Secure Fence Act," which became part of the extensive immigration reform conceived by the White House. In the spring of 2006, plans to build protective structures were approved by the Senate, and Bush promised to send additional National Guard units to the border to keep it locked down until all work was completed.
Almost immediately, the president faced a rebellion from the obstinate governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who refused to send his guardsmen to fight illegals. Then the Senate, apparently forgetting its approval, refused to vote on funding the program, but this could no longer affect the situation. In August, the senators came to their senses and allocated $1.2 billion for construction, and on September 29, the law was approved by Congress. Then came a very emotional message from the president of Mexico, urging Bush to veto the law that the American president himself had actively promoted, and that was the end of it.
Theoretically, the law approved by Congress could have reached Bush's desk within a couple of days, but the Republicans controlling both chambers took a theatrical pause to turn its signing into another election show as close as possible to the midterm elections. And so it happened. Accompanied by the stern gaze of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the president delivered an emotional speech about the alarming situation on the border, the challenges of the time, mentioned that the U.S. was created by immigrants, but immigrants who respected the law, and said he was ready to take on additional responsibility related to all of the above. And he signed it.
What was the result? In the end, it turned out that there were a number of good intentions and a mechanism for their implementation known to no one. And first of all, it's about project financing. The approved financial documents for the next year contain only a general description of possible expenditures, among which costs for barriers, lampposts along the entire fence, and some kind of high-tech control system are mentioned. No specific figures are given.
And this despite the fact that the Secure Fence Act very clearly specifies the deadlines for putting into operation individual elements of the protective infrastructure. In particular, by May 30, 2007, a chain of surveillance cameras must be operational along the entire length of the wall, and the Secretary of Homeland Security is obliged to submit a report to Congress on this happy event. Moreover, as many experts in this field believe, the approved expenditure figure of $1.2 billion is about half of what will actually be needed.
But that's not all. According to polls conducted the day before the ceremonial signing, most Americans see salvation from illegal immigrants not in high-tech fences that can still be broken through by a heavy Mexican truck or bypassed via an underground passage. 74% of respondents are sure that only a significant increase in border patrols can fix the situation. And although Bush promises to double the number of patrol officers by the end of his presidential term, these are still just promises that could prove completely unfulfillable if the Republicans lose the November elections.
And the president also has another headache - the programs for naturalizing illegal immigrants, which have not been approved by Congress, of whom there are about 12 million in the U.S. by the most conservative estimates, and programs to attract qualified foreign labor. Some time ago, discussion of these issues caused a split in the ranks of the president's fellow party members.
The most conservative part of them, concentrated in the House of Representatives, refused to approve the project proposed by the administration, the essence of which was to give illegal immigrants living in the U.S. the right to seek legal status without leaving the country. The administration's opponents are convinced that first the fence must be built, and then all guest workers must be forced to return home and apply at specially created centers there. Obviously, Bush will have to make considerable efforts to convince the recalcitrants to accept his point of view.
But be that as it may, the start of construction of one of the most grandiose structures in U.S. history has already been given. And although it is unlikely to be visible from space and will last a couple of thousand years, everyone will remember that "The Great American Wall" was built by George W. Bush. And perhaps they will even hang a plaque on a surviving section of it with the inscription - "He tried!."
Andrei VORONTSOV.
Lenta.ru