Chertoff vs. the United States

Mickey "The Gnome" Chertoff appeared yesterday on the Sykes show. Unfortunately I did not hear the segment, and don't know what the Secretary of Homeland Security told Charlie.

But Duncan Hunter writes the following:

...Take last year’s legislation calling for construction of 854 miles of fence on our Southern border.

It’s all too obvious that America is under threat because its land borders are largely porous and unprotected. In response last year Congress passed, and the President signed into law, legislation calling for the construction of those 854 miles of border fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Despite this legislative mandate by the U.S. Congress, the Department of Homeland Security recently announced its intention to build only 370 miles of fencing along the border, not the 854 miles required by the legislation.

This directive, despite its clarity, appears to have been interpreted as a suggestion. It is not: it’s the law -- and the border fence must be built.

We're sure that Chertoff has excuses. But do Mickey's airline-security folks accept excuses for having Semtex inside your tennies when boarding an airliner?

And it's not just 'people who do the jobs Americans won't do' that we're talking about.

Since construction of the San Diego Border Fence began in 1996, the smuggling of people and narcotics has dropped drastically, crime rates have been reduced by half according to FBI statistics, vehicle drug drive-throughs have been eliminated and apprehensions have decreased as the result of fewer crossing attempts.

Also of interest:

In 2005, 155,000 foreign nationals from countries other than Mexico were apprehended attempting to cross our land border with Mexico. Alarmingly, many of these individuals originated from countries of national security concern, including Syria, Iran, Lebanon and Yemen, and likely represent only a fraction of those who successfully entered our country without the knowledge of border security officials or the consent of our government.

This is not a problem on the Canadian border with North Dakota. It is a problem on the Mexican border with the US--Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

To date, only 12 miles of the 854 miles of border fencing called for in the Secure Fence Act have been constructed. While it’s a start, the 370 miles of fencing promised by DHS represents a significant departure from what’s required by federal law. Let’s be perfectly clear: it’s not enough. Even the 854 miles of fence legislated last year is only a beginning. Legislation presently under consideration by the U.S. Senate to reform our immigration system also reaffirms DHS’ decision to only build 370 miles of fencing. This legislation is weak on enforcement, comprehensively fails to make border security a priority and wrongly retreats from the mandates of the Secure Fence Act.

Question: did Charlie force Mickey to explain this?

Another question: did YOU force Nobody's Senator to explain this? How about "Wierd Al" Feingold?