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GUEST: Jose Calderon, Professor of Sociology and Chicano Studies at Pitzer College, President of the Latino Roundtable

Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed “The Secure Fence Act of 2006,” that calls for erecting a 700 mile double layer wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. House Resolution 6061 passed by a vote of 283 – 138. The margin was wider than that which passed the anti-immigrant Sensenbrenner bill HR 4437 last year. The US Senate plans to consider the border fence bill as early as tomorrow. Republicans estimated the cost of the fence building project to be two billion dollars, whereas Democrats place the cost at seven billion. Despite the fact that a 700 mile fence would only cover a third of the U.S.–Mexico border, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, referring to immigrants, said last week that, “if we build a fence, they will no longer come illegally.” Orange County Republican Ed Royce justified the legislation on the grounds of “security,” by stating that the border is “now facing infiltration by members of terrorist organizations like Hezbollah.” Some analysts see the passage of the enforcement-only “Secure Fence Act,” as a move by Republicans to keep immigration as an election issue and play on voter fears.