NOGALES, AZ - JUNE 02: A fence separates the cities of Nogales, Arizona (L) and Nogales, Sonora Mexico, a frequent crossing point for people entering the United States illegally, June 2, 2010 in Nogales, Arizona. During the 2009 fiscal year 540,865 undocumented immigrants were apprehended entering the United States illegally along the Mexican border, 241,000 of those were captured in the 262 mile stretch of the border known as the Tucson Sector. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Photo: Scott Olson/2010 Getty Images
In 2010, the Arizona state legislature set up a border security advisory committee to provide recommendations to Governor Jan “Americans Will Mow Lawns” Brewer, but so far the group has managed to submit just one such report. As for its big idea, it’s one we heard ad nauseum during the Republican primary debates: Build a border fence. Ultimately, the lawmakers hoped to fund 200 miles of fencing, or about half the length of Arizona’s border with Mexico. But so far, they’ve raised just 10 percent of the $2.8 million required to build the first mile of the fence. Yet there may be a way to start construction by the end of the year all the same — with donated supplies and prison inmate labor.
