Its future uncertain, barrier on the border going up quickly

Apr 28 03:13 PM US/Eastern

By EILEEN SULLIVAN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. fence along the Mexican border is less a wall than a stuttering set of blockades: half barrier, half gaps.

Americans are split pretty much the same way: half in favor, half against, passionate on both sides when it comes to the idea of erecting a wall to keep people from entering the country illegally.

It can seem a shaky foundation as the United States rushes to complete the fencing on nearly 700 miles of the border by the end of the year. That's when a new administration arrives in the White House with its own ideas about security, freedom, the 11 million illegal immigrants already here and the prospect of many more on the way.

Nearly half complete, the multibillion-dollar fence project stretches from the Pacific surf at Tijuana to the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville, Texas. The messages it sends are decidedly mixed.

For Rep. Peter King, the New York Republican who wrote the legislation to build the fence, the message is simple: Don't sneak into America; we are taking control of our borders.

For others, the fence is inconsistent with a country founded by immigrants and priding itself on opportunity.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says it's simply a new law enforcement device, part of a multipronged crackdown on the flow of illegal immigrants. The government also has hired more border agents, stepped up enforcement nationwide and increased penalties for those who don't follow the law.