Saturday, August 20, 2011
When is raising $100,000 in a week a disappointment for a grass-roots campaign? When the goal is to collect $50 million.
That’s the sad news for supporters of Arizona’s border-fence initiative. Feeling compelled to seal off their state to the south and end all illegal immigration, activists pushed legislation through the state legislature authorizing Arizona to build its own barrier.
But such an ambitious plan calls for at least $50 million in funding, not to mention getting permission from private and public landowners to construct a fence on their property. So far, 2,706 people have donated a total of $123,065.
Given that the campaign has managed to raise only one-four-hundredth of what’s required, supporters are conceding that the fence may never become a reality.
“I can’t imagine the stars aligning for that to take place and the funds being acquired to do all of that,” state Representative Russ Jones, who co-chairs the Joint Border Security Advisory Committee, told the Arizona Capitol Times. “I’m not saying it’s impossible. I’m just saying it’s very unlikely.”
Officially, all but 61 miles of Arizona’s border with Mexico is already fenced, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. But much of the existing fence is easily overcome or bypassed, which is why supporters of Arizona’s barrier wanted to take matters into their own hands.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Key Obstacles Stand in Way of State Border Fence (by Jeremy Duda, Arizona Capitol Times)
‘Fence of Dreams' Now Facing Harsh Reality (E.J. Montini, Arizona Republic)
Arizona Now Can Build Border Fence (by Alia Beard Rau, Arizona Republic)
Build the Border Fence (State of Arizona)
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