Congress drops border fence extension from Homeland Security appropriations

Members of the US Congress have removed an amendment to the 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations bill that sought to require additional construction of the US-Mexico border fence. The amendment, introduced by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), had been narrowly passed by the Senate in July. It called for the completion of 700 miles of reinforced fencing along the border, not to be substituted for "virtual fencing" or low-rise vehicle barriers. Of the $42.78 billion allocated for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), $10.1 billion is directed toward Customs and Border Protection, $800 million of which is for fencing, infrastructure and technology along the Southwest border.

Currently, nearly 700 miles of the border are enforced with a combination of fencing, virtual-fencing, patrol and other means. It is estimated that the fence will cost $2.4 billion to complete and an additional $6.5 billion to maintain it for 20 years.

Border fence construction has been met with many legal challenges. In June, the US Supreme Court denied certiorari in County of El Paso, Texas v. Napolitano, in which it was asked to consider whether the DHS secretary's broad authority in constructing a border fence was an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power. That same month, a lawsuit brought against the DHS by the Texas Border Coalition was dismissed, in federal court.

The Coalition had challenged the condemnation of land for fence construction and land access compensation under the Administrative Procedure Act, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and the Fifth Amendment due process clause. The fence construction was authorized in 2006 by then-president George W. Bush.

(Published By Jurist - October 13, 2009)