The nature of responses to this question reflect the difficulties involved in coming up with a solution. My father and I discussed this at length (not the fence, which is relatively irrelevant to the real problem) this past weekend. He immigrated here legally in the 30s when, essentially, you walked across the border unfettered. He has always appreciated the opportunity the United States afforded him and feels strongly that others should appreciate it as well. I agree.

That said, this is not a patriotic, emotional (easy to say), or security issue. This is an economic issue. At the end of our discussion we both agreed on one thing that we found to be true. The notion of earning US dollars and living in Mexico is very attractive, which is why so many come here and send dollars home to be converted to pesos and provide a decent living for their families. It's not a mystery or anything evil, it's simple economics. Mexico is a huge country with a large population and happens to border the United States. Their per capita income is drastically lower than ours and so is their cost of living. So if you can double or triple-up in a rented room, earn dollars, and ship those dollars back home, you are solving an economic problem for millions of families south of the border. On our side of the equation is the millions of cheap man-hours we get in our agricultural fields (pickers), our restaurants (bus boys/cooks), our hotels (maids, maintenance staff) and so many other of our service-related industries (and there are a lot of them now that we are essentially a service economy). The trade-off for our direct (wages) and indirect (uninsured motorists, emergency room visits) costs are lower prices at the register. If we want to shut the border down, that's our right as a country, but the American taxpayer should be informed up front what the direct costs of that action will be (say, $5 for a head of lettuce due to the combined costs of American labor, benefits, retirement, etc. which may or may not be available to an immigrant). The dirty little secret, as it were, is that economically it is not in the United States' best interest for either Mexico's economy to substantially improve as it relates to wages or for meaningful immigration reform to pass in Congress. Were either of these events to occur, our cost of living in the United States would likely increase as our labor pool was reduced, thus pushing wages up in the US as immigration was either reduced from Mexico (legal or otherwise) and/or Mexico's economy made it more attractive for citizens there to remain and work in Mexico. Had the United States been serious about reducing/eliminating illegal immigration it would have been (and still is) easy to do so. Simply shut down any business that employees undocumented workers. Enforce that law without mercy and you will soon all but eliminate illegal immigration. Business reacts quickly to lethal threats to its existence. But we have not and likely will not do that because of the greater threat posed to our economy. No one in Congress can afford to put things quite so starkly because it is politically hazardous, especially given the demographic fact that Hispanic citizens are becoming a voting bloc to be reckoned with.

Comments abound in this discussion and others about how Mexicans don't assimilate American culture, that they merely come here, earn dollars, and either return with them or send them to Mexico. There is a simple reason for this. Mexican culture is beautifully rich. It's not better or worse than ours, just different in ways that make it very attractive to those who are raised there. Heck, it's attractive to those of use who were raised here, if you spend enough time there. Speak to any American living in the Mexico (retirees, for example) and they will tell you that Mexico's culture is a big part of why they enjoy living there. More importantly, and unlike those who immigrate for distant countries, Mexican immigrants to the United States can easily return to Mexico and so maintain close ties to Mexican traditions, celebrations, and the like. Further, there are so many Mexican immigrants in the United States now that most communities where they live have surrounding familiar to them. Carnicerias (meat markets), panaderias (bakeries), and other Mexican specialty stores are popping up anywhere there is an appreciable number of Mexicans either residing or working there. As such, it's easy to see where assimilation may be less likely, especially for first generation Mexican immigrants. This isn't a bad or a good thing, it's just the way it is. Whenever a particular culture penetrates a particular area in terms of their presence, shops and other services catering to their specific needs will be created. It just happens that Mexican immigrants have big population numbers in many major metropolitan areas of the United States, especially in the southwest.

In the end, it's all economic. To litter the discussion with moral, emotional, or patriotic appeals, while providing fun reading, really has little to do with defining the problem; assuming there is one.

Wow I have been reading all the comments listed here before mine and I can't understand how so many people can be so RIGHT and so WRONG. Someone said they were illegal, well yes they are, do they take jobs, yes they do, do they pay taxes, yes again, do they help our economy, of course they do. Find me a country in these economic times that don't hire migrants (better than illegal) because they will work cheaper than the normal citizen. Mexico hires migrants from Colombia, India hires migrants from Pakistan, Russia hires migrants from the Ukraine, China hires migrants from Tibet and we hire migrants from Mexico, funny how that works. We are supposed to be a great informed nation of compassionate people but we seem to put more time and work in discussing the building of this fence instead of addressing the issue of why these people cross mountains and deserts to get here. Hell once you've done all that a little fence is not obstacle at all, don't you agree. Funny how the economy can make people do things they never thought of doing before, like crossing the border to Canada to find work cause you were laid off. Well just a thought and you can call me Gerry, wouldn't want to get tagged with Anonymous, sounds similar to Illegal.

No. I agree with the person who wants the fence around Washington DC.

No. It won't work anyway. If the fence is strong, people will go by sea, or fly to Canada and come in to the USA from the north.

We and the countries south of the US border need to do some serious development and economic work (and get rid of government corruption both here and there) so emigration isn't necessary.

Of course I do not approve of the fence. I am always reminded of President Reagan's " Mr Gorbachev! Tear down this wall!"

Just the fence? No. Border Patrol requires a lot more than just hardware. If it is coupled with other measures to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, narcotics, and contraband, I'd be more supportive of the fence. If the fence worked both ways - preventing illegal materials from leaving the US then I would support the fence 100%.

Either way, the fence can and will be breached if it hasn't been done already. I don't live there, but I can guarantee you a determined person will find their way around the fence either physically or by procedure fraud (i.e. phony documentation going through customs).

Heck no. Talk about a big waste of tax dollars. As one person said build a 32 foot fence then you would see a spike in sales of 33 foot ladders. We need to help fix Mexico. How about building a up to date hi-tech barrier around New Orleans, like the one in Holland, or spending the money on Oakland, CA as a social experiment to fix the school system, clean the city, take the criminals off the streets and then rehab them with ed, social skills and have a job waiting for the ones that can work.

When strangers come to my front door and ring the doorbell, I will welcome them in if I know why they are there and I feel that I can trust them. If strangers come to my back door I will probably call the police. Our country should enforce the front door policy also.
The fence is necessary to keep people from going through the back door.

Yes. I don't have any reservations about someone trying to provide a better life his family. I just want people who come here to come here LEGALLY. There was legislation pending here in Arkansas that would have allowed undocumented students to receive in-state tuition. Thankfully, that piece of legislation was not passed. There are more and more American families who are pulling their children out of college because they cannot afford to pay for it. When and where are we going to draw the line concerning illegal aliens and their growing demands for services that they have no right to claim? If you want all of the priviledges that come with being a citizen of the United States, then take the steps necessary to do it LEGALLY.

The money would be better spent on expediting legal visas which now take approx. 10 to 14 years to process.

ridiculous waste of time..if you want to waste that much money build the great wall and stop fooling around.

No, I do not approve. The fence has despoiled many wetlands and areas which require connection in order to maintain natural wildlife; disconnection by a fence ruins some needed patterns of flora and fauna.

It does the same thing to communities. People cannot meet each other and shop at their usual shops, etc.

Evidently, also, it is ugly; it ruins some people's views.

YES! I think that every wetback nabed should be sentenced to one year of hard labor working to build said barrier.

Anonymous: They are already sentenced to hard labor since they are doing the HARD LABOR jobs in this country us Americans are too lazy and too spoiled to do. Given the terminology you used to describe undocumented immigrants, and your grammatical errors, will you be lining up to do these HARD LABOR jobs should we remove ALL the undocumented immigrants? Given your level of perceived education (again, I refer to your terminology and grammatical errors), you may have to. Otherwise, you may be paying $5.00 a pound for tomatoes. Your are just another Lou Dobbs/Tom Trancedo/Joe Apario follower who doesn't have a clue what sacrifice and HARD LABOR is......

Good fences make good neighbors.

I was surprised to learn that we didn't have a fence. Whether it is an actual fence, a wall, or a highly patrolled section of desert, I feel that we should have our borders secured.

No, it needs to be longer, electrified and with gun turrets. That my union brothers can support the onslaught of wage /job reducing, money exporting, resource draining hoards is a betrayal of membership and revelatory of a hidden agenda. I've traveled to 52 countries and was not welcome to work (was arrested for helping in a guest house kitchen) in any of them.The promoters of amnesty are knee-jerk do gooders and corporate cutthroats.The American worker is the loser..period.

there are several issues in my mind. to begin, yes, I am in favor of the 700 mile fence along the border with Mexico. I am against illegal immigration. Vehemently!!! We send Haitians back to their country because as one US Suit said, "they are economic refugees." I ask you: what are illegal Mexicans if not economic refugees. What pops out loud and clear to me is that this country's still deep-seated anti-Black discrimination practices make it easier for for Latinos to find work in this country. And before you start stepping all over yourself, just review our history. In fact, a recent study shows that over 80,000 businesses surveyed refused to hire African-Americans in any capacity. Speaking Spanish is now a requirement for American citizens trying to get jobs in the Fast Food industry, Hospitality industry. And lets not forget the contruction's industry's long history of discrimination against African-Americans. Do i care that Mexico and some portions of Central America lives in abject poverty? Of course. But we have abject poverty in America. What's wrong with taking care of our citizens first. I am all for President Obama's push to change the tax code that under GW Bush, gave incentives to outsource jobs to Mexico, India, Sri Lanka, and everywhere else in the world because of the greed of our Bankers, Corporations and others. And many of you voted Republican tickets tacitly approving of this practice because you were wedded to their social policies, not thinking about their economic policies. Now we know how that turned out.As to what should happen to the 20-million illegals immigrants in this country. They should leave, be deported, NEVER be given American citizenship. That would stop the "anchor baby" situation. Oh! and just for the record, I am not a racist. Just because I think laws have been broken and am against "forced citizenship" for these people, I will NEVER accept that label. Scare tactics won't work regarding this issue. By the way, what makes Latinos a minority? They are not a racial group. Most consider themselves of Spanish descent, which makes them White. Is it language? Something about this whole issue of their minority status does not pass muster to my way of thinking. I just can't ever see my call them "my fellow American." So, go ahead and beat up on me.

I don't approve anymore of a Mexican/USA border fence than I did of the Berlin Wall. It has the same psycological and visual impact, although the purpose is in reverse. Aside from that, the environmental impacts should be considered criminal.

If completed I can visualize the wall becoming the latest symbol of what the U.S. represents.

No, no, no! We already have an anti-Mexico, anti-Spanish, and anti-cultural fence erected for for hundreds of years against this Non-European people who are peaceful and just want a better life IN the United States. The fence is a knee jerk reaction to 9/11 and just shows what paranoid fear we have now, fear where there should BE no fear. It's easy to beat up the Mexicans, the country has essentially no power outside it's borders and don't take care of it's people.

Thank you. JaL

I think we need some kind of deterent to keep out those folks that are not entering the country in the correct manner. Who knows maybe a fence 700 miles long and 300 miles high would keep all those folks out.