Obama Administration's border fence scam exposed by investigative report

While scolding the people of state of Arizona for their new immigration enforcement law, President Barack Obama and his minions repeatedly demonstrate their lack of enthusiasm for protecting the U.S. borders and cracking down on illegal (criminal) immigrants.

After years of debates, congressional votes, government studies and political posturing by lawmakers, the so-called "virtual fence" continues to cause more problems than it solves, according to testimony at a session of the House Homeland Security Committee.

In a compromise that met with disappointment by those who advocate tighter border security, instead of walls or chain link fencing, the U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Department created the concept of virtual fence security that includes surveillance cameras, motion or heat sensing detectors, radar, and supposed state-of-the-art control towers designed to detect and prevent illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the United States.

According to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, the security contractor -- Boeing Co. -- is installing the hi-tech physical security system. The original plan called for a completion date by December 2009 at a cost of $1.1 billion for a virtual fence. According to the report obtained by NACOP, Boeing requested that completion date to be amended by seven years.

Physical security experts told this writer it should surprise no one that a relatively simple project would become complicated and unmanageable given that fact that most of the decision-makers probably have no law enforcement, security or engineering background.

Besides the problems government officials face with the project's completion, testimony during the House Homeland Security Committee reveals that parts of the system that have been installed and placed into service frequently break down. In fact, the government report revealed that the hi-tech system rarely helps Border Patrol agents capture illegal aliens.

However, some officials still believe the concept and the program of "virtual fencing" will eventually prove successful in providing Border Patrol agents valuable assistance.

"We want to make sure we do this right," said Mark Borkowski, director of Customs and Border Protection's Secure Border Initiative or SBInet. "Yes, the [system] works," Borkowski stated emphatically.

So far, Boeing engineers have finished installation on the 23-mile "Tucson-1" phase of the project and they are now building "Ajo-1." Tucson-1 and Ajo-1 are locations in the Arizona where SBInet is being installed. The Boeing fence project is but one part of a $4 billion program to secure the U.S.'s 2,000-plus mile border with Mexico.

However, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano last Tuesday stated that about $50 million originally earmarked for SBInet will be spent on what she termed "proven technologies," rather than the high-tech Boeing designed and installed equipment.

Secretary Napolitano claims her decision is based on an internal security investigation and vulnerability assessment in which investigators discovered more than 1,200 defects in SBInet systems within a 16-month period -- March 2008 thru July 2009.

President Barack Obama has called for budget cuts in the SBInet funding by almost $300 million.

But Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said during the House hearing that a "dire situation" that exists on the U.S.-Mexico -- with drug gang murders in Mexico and illegal immigration -- leaves no time for delays on SBInet.

"There is a war going on," McCaul said, referring to roughly 6,000 murders in Mexico last year, most of which are suspected of being drug-related. "We cannot afford any more timeouts."

The porous border between the United States and Mexico made it nearly certain the drug violence would spill over into the United States, he said.

Congress decided to investigate problems with the virtual fence after the Government Accountability Office pointed out cost overruns and delays in a report on SBInet.

Roger Krone, Boeing's president of network and space systems, said SBInet would get better as the glitches are worked out of the first parts of the system, according to the GAO report.

"It is giving border patrol a significant tactical advantage, especially in nighttime operations," Krone said during his testimony before the Congressional committee.