Bush authorizes border fence 

Source: CCTV.com

10-27-2006 09:28

US President George W. Bush has signed a bill authorizing the construction of a fence of some over 1,000 kilometers along the US-Mexico border..

Bush wanted to make it clear before signing the bill that the fence targets illegal immigration.

Bush said, “Ours is a nation of immigrants. We're also a nation of law. Unfortunately, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and, therefore, illegal immigration has been on the rise. We have a responsibility to address there challenges. We have a responsibility to enforce our laws. We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility seriously.”

The new fence will cover one-third of 33 hundred kilometres border.

Its cost is unknown. Earlier this month, a homeland security measure allocated over a billion US dollars for the project. The money also can be used for access roads, vehicle barriers and other tools to secure the border.

On the same day, Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon rejected the construction of the fence during his visit in Canada.

Felipe Calderon said, “What his decision is going to do is cause the fatality rate to increase and I don't think that this would be useful for the purposes of building a more prosperous and safer region between the United States, Mexico and Canada. I reject the construction of this wall and I vote for us looking for efficient mechanisms to contribute to the prosperity of our three nations.”

He also urged Canada to help seek out more efficient ways to greater security in North America without damaging other countries' interests.

 

Editor:Sun Luying