U.S. border 'surge' would place agent every 1,000 feet

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

U.S. border 'surge' would place agent every 1,000 feet
Rachelle Younglai
Reuters
10:43 p.m. EDT, June 20, 2013

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The 2,000-mile (3,200-km) boundary between the United States and Mexico would have enough border patrol agents to station one guard every 1,000 feet, under a compromise measure being considered by the U.S. Senate as part of an effort to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

It would also provide for the completion of 700 miles of fencing, observation towers, manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, radar and even seismic devices to prevent foreigners from illegally crossing the border, according to a description provided by a sponsor of the compromise.

The buildup of agents equipped with high-tech night-vision goggles, radar devices and electronic sensors was so reminiscent to some senators of past U.S. combat missions in Iraq that supporters openly boasted about the southwestern border "surge" - even as some civil liberties activists complained about border communities being turned into militarized zones.

The huge deployment is being proposed to try to assure Republicans that the border is secure under Senate legislation supported by President Barack Obama that would open a pathway to citizenship for up to 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.




Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-immigration-borderbre95k045-20130620,0,745003.story#ixzz2WopfC3IT

[Iliyah]

1. Thats only for Mexico?

huh?

[Coyotl]

37. And the only difference it will make is

a lot more rednecks with great government jobs and pensions, basically suckling at the USG teat for the rest of their naturally lives without making a real contribution to the general welfare of producing anything of use to anyone.

[JimDandy]

39. Canada...Mexico... macht nichts

They're probably going to use drones to secure the border.

[Incitatus]

44. Actually

well, yes. It's only for the Mexicans.

[niyad]

2. let's see, the bloodsuckers in dc are cutting everything because we are broke, but there is

suddenly enough money to hire 10,000 agents? REALLY??? and we are not supposed to notice this little fact?

[cstanleytech]

7. You are going to need far more than 10000 border agents to secure that border.

Factor in the % who will call in sick or have to call in for some other reason and they cant work 24/7 so you need enough for multiple shifts.
In the end the only way to really secure that size of a border would be to make it a 5 mile wide border zone owned and patrolled by the military as they are the only branch of government with the manpower to do it but I dont think it will happen because there would be a hell of alot of people complaining if the feds seized their lands to make into a military base.

[YeahSureRight]

13. To do 24/7 coverage you need 3 people to fill 1 position and that does not include

needing coverage for sick days, vacation and training.

4-5 people would be needed at a minimum for every guard position.

Oh yeah you will also need a large support staff too and that will create more jobs.

Yes you are correct a NK style DMZ on the border is all that would work.

But the bigots being bigots who want this fence are not very bright and forget that we have even more brach front border then a border with Mexico and the people who want in will just go around the fence and land on beaches instead.

Look at the Border Fence as the Racist version of the Maginot Line!

[markpkessinger]

15. And don't forget . . .

. . . the cost of constructing and maintaining agent stations. It's not like you just leave them standing in the desert for a full 8-hour shift! I didn't catch where the article identified the genius who came up with this idea. Or did I miss it?

[mdm646]

25. I have an idea

Why doesn't the government use those drones that they seem so fond of on the boarder? No lost jobs, no worthless construction, much lower costs, and they may be able to locate people lost in the desert. Now how is that for an answer??

[jmowreader]

45. No, you need FOUR people to fill one position

And that's not counting vacation, sick leave and training days.

There are three ways you can do this. Two require four people for every position, the other requires three. And the third one isn't all that good.

The first is to work six days on and two off. You do that, and the teams work six days from...say 7 am to 3 pm, then get two days off, then work six days 3 pm to 11 pm followed by two days off, then six days 11 pm to 7 am followed by two days off. This is very hard on you.

The second is six on and three off. In this shift, you go back and forth between the 0700-1500 and 1500-2300 shifts for three months, then one month 2300-0700 working five on and two off with "internal breaks" - the whole team wouldn't be working all at the same time. Since most border crossings probably would happen from 2300-0700 and probably relatively few happen in broad daylight, you'd want to do your "mid" shift during broad daylight so there'd be plenty of coverage when most of what you're trying to stop is happening.

The third one doesn't alternate shifts and all three shifts work 5 and 2 with internal breaks. This requires 25 percent fewer people but it kills the ones you have.

[markpkessinger]

14. Actually, it would be at least 30,000

24-hour guarding means three shifts of 10,000 guards. Then there's the cost of constructing and maintaining 10,000 agent stations (because you can't very well leave them standing in the middle of the desert for 8 hours). Utter insanity.

[snooper2]

33. that's saying every gaurd works an eight hour shift every day of the year

What about weekends, sick time, vacation time.

[markpkessinger]

35. I said "at least" -- obviously, other factors will increase that number n/t

[LiberalFighter]

32. Military doesn't have the manpower either.

Not when they are serving overseas.

[John2]

36. Put the

unemployed to work and let them guard the border. Pay them a decent wage too.

[LiberalFighter]

41. Really?

[wandy]

3. I just hope the contractor supplying the agents at least gets them green cards.

[Ash_F]

42. ZING! /nt

[cstanleytech]

4. Ya know this sounds alot like the Berlin Wall more and more nt

[hughee99]

9. Will they be there to make sure no one leaves the US?

That, to me, really seems to be the key component of any Berlin Wall comparision.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Let's train flying monkeys to poop on their heads.

I'll bet if we propose it, the Republicans will think it's a great idea, as long as Obama poo poos it.

Get Baucus or some other pretend Democrat to propose it.

[delrem]

6. That is f$ckin insane!

Tell me it isn't true, that the US isn't *that* disfunctional. Please...

[flamingdem]

34. It's not

rilly it's not

[Mnemosyne]

8. Trying to keep their cheaper labor here? nt

[JDPriestly]

10. Never thought this move into totalitarianism could go so fast.

Eastern Europe was nothing compared to us.

We've got more effective and efficient surveillance and, if the Republicans get their way, we will soon be encircled in barbed wire.

[PatrynXX]

11. Alot of money to be spent down the drain

Republicans are massive spenders....


border control won't do a thing. The idea is to get them to not to want to come here. Like enforcement of not hiring illegals. Which when companies do this they do it under the books and way below min wage, which force others out of biz.

[SwissTony]

12. Lucky they are for small government

a mere 30,000 agents (3 shifts), plus training, plus equipment, plus infrastructure, plus admin, plus...

Two bucks 50. Tops.

[Festivito]

16. Couple billion here a couple billion there.

Let's see 2000 miles. Five per mile 5280 feet. Three shits Saturday. Sunday and all holidays including Christmas. Vacations sick days supervisors managers.

50,000 per year on average. Will need uniforms training and guns.

Hey what's a couple billion dollars between friends or um other countries.

[madville]

17. The immigration bill is supposed to create a budget surplus

Something like 200 billion dollars over 10 years was reported this week. I don't really buy it but they will say the bill pays for itself.

[mainer]

18. You know what's scary about a wall? It can work both ways.

Imagine a situation where Americans might be forced to flee their own country. Or a time when we have a government that might want to ensure none of us gets out. What we think of as a protective wall could easily be turned into a Berlin Wall.

[olddad56]

43. that was my first thought on this

[newfie11]

19. So this is the jobs jobs jobs Boner keeps talking about

Pathetic!

[bemildred]

20. "Fortress America" indeed. nt

[malthaussen]

21. Such a shame there was no barbed wire in 1492... n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

22. Why, of course, let's spend $45 billion to complete the Police States of America.

[Javaman]

23. how much is the corporate security system going to make off of us?

it's all about money and fear.

[peace13]

24. This is to keep us in not them out! n/t

[atreides1]

26. Here's what we do.

Build the fence along the entire US/Mexico border, then move 3 miles in...place mine fields in the first mile, then another, smaller fence and the area equipped with motion detectors, cameras, and flood lights along the second mile.

Construct barracks and support facilities in the last section for the Border Patrol and all required support personnei, who will be stationed at these facilities with a change of staff every 30 days.

As for the beaches...you can easily mine them as well...and place guard towers with 24/7 staffing!

Sounds like Escape from New York, doesn't it....

[sosuaslayde]

27. as someone who lives in Tennessee and Mexico- my take

I support a pathway to citizenship; however, I think we do need to do more to secure the border. I have several homes in Mexico and probably spend 4 months out of the year 4 hours south of Tucson in Guayamas, Mexico. All you have to do is talk to the border patrol on both sides and people who live in Sonora. It’s not only good people crossing but criminals with long records, sick people, ect. We already have the most lax immigration structure on earth (you don’t even want to know what happens to illegal that cross into Mexico from its southern borders). We need an orderly immigration process. After all, millions of immigrants did it the “right and legal” way. I think it is simply common sense (and most Americans agree) that we do more to secure our border while allowing those here a chance to stay. If not, we will be repeating this every couple decades. We are a sovereign nation and a secure, orderly border and immigration process is necessary. Again, we have the most liberal immigration process on earth already. I think my opinion is that of the overwhelming majority of Americans. By the way- the Mexican govt advocates the illegal immigration of it’s poor, illiterate citizens to America. Ask any Mexican.

[Sunlei]

28. Republicans want to squander a trillion dollars to stop a few poor desert walkers?

[Sunlei]

29. Or is it the Immigration bill Rs want to kill with a stinkbomb attachment?

[SoapBox]

30. Ditto!

...TeaPukeBaggers...biggest money spenders EVER!

[Sunlei]

31. Rs treat Americans like they are morons. Everyone in Mexico knows if you have cash,

you fly to Canada, Cuba, or near islands, or even Russia. border cross by land or sea.

The only Mexico border crossers these days are ones who pay off our corrupt USA guards, or people who jump the fences to go to usa family or the 7$ a day slave labor who risk death in desert walking. and pay about 1500.00 to die in the desert or get picked up by border patrol and treated in our border hospitals.


By the way Reservations are OFF LIMITS to border patrol. plenty of those because thats the worse land they were given

[sakabatou]

40. Yup

[on point]

38. Just penalize employers already. The one thing they won't do