Border Security: The San Diego Fence (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised June 25, 2007 |
| Report Number |
RS22026 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Blas Nunez-Neto, Domestic Social Policy Division; Michael John Garcia, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
This report outlines the issues involved with DHS's construction of the San Diego border fence and highlights some of the major legislative and administrative developments regarding its completion; it will be updated as warranted. (For more analysis of border fencing and other barriers, please see CRS Report RL33659, Border Security: Barriers Along the U.S. International Border, by Chad C. Haddal, Yule Kim, and Michael John Garcia.) Congress first authorized the construction of a 14-mile, triple-layered fence along the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996. By 2004, only nine miles had been completed, and construction was halted because of environmental concerns. The 109th Congress subsequently passed the REAL ID Act (P.L. 109-13, Div. B), which contained provisions to facilitate the completion of the 14-mile fence. These provisions allow the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive all legal requirements determined necessary to ensure expeditious construction of authorized barriers and roads. In September 2005, the Secretary used this authority to waive a number of mostly environmental and conservation laws. Subsequently, the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-367) removed the specific IIRIRA provisions authorizing the San Diego fence and added provisions authorizing five stretches of two-layered reinforced fencing along the southwest border. While the specific authorization of the San Diego fence was deleted, the project appears permissible under a separate, more general authorization provision of IIRIRA. In the 110th Congress, S. 1639, introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy on June 20, 2007, would amend § 102 of IIRIRA to once again expressly authorize the construction of the San Diego fence.
