The Fence

In October 2006, the U.S. government announced plans to construct a 700-mile fence along the contentious 2000-mile-plus U.S.-Mexico border. Three years, 19 construction companies, 350 engineers, thousands of construction workers, tens of thousands of tons of metal, and approximately $3 billion later, the project was completed. In 2010, Arizona passed one of the most stringent immigration laws in the country, prompting the Obama administration to file a lawsuit against the state. The legal dispute highlighted a broader national issue: the absence of a comprehensive and effective U.S. immigration policy. In the absence of such a policy, lawmakers have implemented a series of partial measures, the most costly of which is the U.S.-Mexico border fence, which stretches through the desert 150 miles south of Arizona's state capital.