Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson voted today to appropriate funds for the Army National Guard for the construction of 370 miles of triple layer fencing and 500 miles of vehicle barriers along the southwest border of the US. The amendment passed 94-3 as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations bill.

“Our borders remain open and we need to do something and this is a start,” said Nelson. “Designating funds for the National Guard to construct a barrier to help secure the US border is important to the overall security of our nation and to stop the flood of illegal immigration.”

More than 6,000 National Guard troops are already serving in four border states, charged with helping build the tactical infrastructure needed on the southern border. This amendment appropriates funds to help the National Guard carry out its role.

Existing border fences have been successful in securing the border. The San Diego border fence is responsible for decreasing the number of illegal border crossings from 531,689 in 1993 to 111,515 in 2003. Drug smuggling rates have also dwindled since the fence’s construction, resulting in a drop of 58,000 pounds of marijuana coming across the San Diego border in 1993 to just 36,177 pounds a decade later.

Senator Nelson has proposed his own bipartisan border security first bill that would strengthen US borders by increasing border patrol agents, increasing detention facilities for those caught crossing the border illegally, adding court resources, building a border barrier, and cracking down on employers who knowingly hire illegal workers.

Today’s amendment appropriates $1.829 billion to border security. 

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