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Congress has repeatedly shown interest in examining and expanding
the barriers being deployed along the U.S. international land
border. The 109th Congress passed a number of laws affecting these
barriers, and oversight of these laws and of the construction
process may be of interest to the 110th Congress. The United States
Border Patrol (USBP) deploys fencing, which aims to impede the
illegal entry of individuals, and vehicle barriers, which aim to
impede the illegal entry of vehicles (but not individuals) along
the border. The USBP first began erecting barriers in 1990 to deter
illegal entries and drug smuggling in its San Diego sector. The
ensuing 14 mile-long San Diego "primary fence" formed part of the
USBP's "Prevention Through Deterrence" strategy, which called for
reducing unauthorised migration by placing agents and resources
directly on the border along population centres in order to deter
would-be migrants from entering the country. In 1996, Congress
passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility
Act which, among other things, explicitly gave the Attorney General
(now the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security) broad
authority to construct barriers along the border and authorised the
construction of a secondary layer of fencing to buttress the
completed 14 mile primary fence. Construction of the secondary
fence stalled due to environmental concerns raised by the
California Coastal Commission. In 2005, Congress passed the REAL ID
Act that authorised the Secretary of the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) to waive all legal requirements in order to expedite
the construction of border barriers. DHS has announced it will use
this waiver authority to complete the San Diego fence. The Secure
Fence Act of 2006 directed DHS to construct 850 miles of additional
border fencing. This requirement was subsequently modified by the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161), which was
enacted into law on December 26, 2007. The act requires the
Secretary of Homeland Security to construct fencing along not less
than 700 miles of the south-west border. While the San Diego fence,
combined with an increase in agents and other resources in the
USBP's San Diego sector, has proven effective in reducing the
number of apprehensions made in that sector, there is considerable
evidence that the flow of illegal immigration has adapted to this
enforcement posture and has shifted to the more remote areas of the
Arizona desert. Nationally, the USBP made 1.2 million apprehensions
in 1992 and again in 2004, suggesting that the increased
enforcement in San Diego sector has had little impact on overall
apprehensions. In addition to border fencing, the USBP deploys both
permanent and temporary vehicle barriers to the border. Temporary
vehicle barriers are typically chained together and can be moved to
different locations at the USBP's discretion. Permanent vehicle
barriers are embedded in the ground and are meant to remain in one
location. A number of policy issues concerning border barriers
generally and fencing specifically may be of interest to Congress,
including, but not limited, to their effectiveness, costs versus
benefits, location, design, environmental impact, potential
diplomatic ramifications, and the costs of acquiring the land
needed for construction.
Program evaluations can play an important role in public policy
debates and in oversight of government programs, potentially
affecting decisions about program design, operation, and funding.
One technique that has received significant recent attention is the
randomised controlled trial (RCT). There are also many other types
of evaluation, including the observational and qualitative designs.
Canada-United States relations covers more than two centuries,
marked by a shared British colonial heritage, conflict during the
early years of the U.S., and the eventual development of one of the
most successful international relationships in the modern world.
The most serious breach in the relationship was the War of 1812,
which saw both sides try to invade the other, and both failed,
leaving the status quo. Friendship was solidified in the 20th
century with the shared experience of the world wars and a close
alliance during the Cold War. Canada and the United States are
currently the world's largest trading partners, share the world's
longest border, and have significant interoperability within the
defense sphere. Modern difficulties have included repeated trade
disputes (despite a continental trade agreement), environmental
concerns, and debates over immigration and the movement of people
across the shared border. While the foreign policies of the
neighbors have been largely aligned for much of the post-war era,
significant disputes have arisen, including over the Vietnam War,
the status of Cuba, the Iraq War and the War on Terror. At this
time, the Canadian dollar has gained considerably versus the U.S.
dollar with as yet unknown consequences.
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