OBP005952

From: (b) (6)

To: (b) (6)

Cc: (b) (6)

Subject: Re: Lawmaker calls for real fence on border, not a "virtual" one
Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 8:16:47 AM

I believe S1 used this term again recently in his blog.

----- Original Message -----

From: (b) (6)
To: (b) (6)

Cc: (b) (6)

Sent: Wed Mar 26 07:56:59 2008

Subject: FW: Lawmaker calls for real fence on border, not a 'virtual' one

Good morning.

This article illustrates the problem of referring to technology as “virtual fence.”

(b) (6)

Secure Border Initiative

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

(b) (6)

For more information about the Secure Border Initiative, visit www.cbp.gov/sbi
<http://www.cbp.gov/sbi> or contact us at SBI_info@dhs.gov <mailto:SBI info@dhs.gov> .

March 26, 2008, 12:40AM

Lawmaker calls for real fence on border, not a 'virtual' one
By ROB HOTAKAINEN
McClatchy-Tribune
WASHINGTON — As a farmer, Rep. Sam Graves says, he knows a thing or two about fences. And the
Missouri Republican says he knows this for sure: It makes no sense to try to keep out illegal immigrants
by building a "virtual fence" on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Standing in front of an iron fence Tuesday at a fence company in Kansas City, Mo., Graves called on
Congress to pass a bill that would force the Department of Homeland Security to scrap its high-tech
virtual fence and build a real fence instead.

"I know if I put up a virtual fence on my farm, it wouldn't keep any cattle in," Graves said. "It wouldn't
work at all."

Graves introduced the bill, called the Real Fence Act, earlier this month.
The congressman also has signed a petition that would force a vote in the House of Representatives on
a separate bill that would add 8,000 Border Patrol agents and increase the size of the federal judiciary
OBP005953

to deal with illegal immigrants.

Earlier this month, the Bush administration outlined plans to begin operating portions of a virtual fence
along the Southwestern border later this year. The DHS disputed news reports that a 28-mile pilot
project to test the technology was a failure.

Top officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that they were on track to complete
hundreds of miles of traditional fencing by the end of this year. But they acknowledged that disputes
with Texas landowners could endanger their timetable.