A legislative committee for the state of Arizona wants to go ahead with plans to build a 200-mile fence along its border with Mexico. According to a report from the Phoenix newspaper the Arizona Republic, the Joint Border-Security Advisory Committee has only raised 10% of the $2.8 million needed for the full length of the fence. Still, legislators want to begin construction sometime this year and then hope that donations begin pouring in.
The committee, which is made up of Republican legislators, county sheriffs, and state department officials, was created by the Arizona legislature in 2010. The goal of the committee was to make recommendations to the governor about border security, but it has not yet provided any recommendations. It has been fundraising for the border fence project, though, and it has raised over $273,000. The committee is speaking with construction companies about beginning the project and possibly using inmate labor.
Though the committee has not made any recommendations, it does hear testimony from border security experts and has visited the border twice, according to the Republic. The committee has also set up a rudimentary website that has a presentation on the proposed border fence, as well as a page where donations can be made. Al Melvin, Arizona state senator and co-chair of the committee, also stars in a YouTube video introduction for the committee, in which he asks for donations to the border fence fund: