To the editor:

OK, the Republican Congress has voted to install a multimillion-dollar, 370-mile fence that will require constant surveillance and upkeep, and the Republican president is sending 6,000 troops to patrol the border. It is safe to assume that the fence building will be done through a no-bid contract to Halliburton or some other cronies of the president. Next we will hear Bush say that it will be up to future presidents to decide how long National Guard troops will be detailed to patrol the border.

How about spending the money to go after businesses that hire illegal aliens instead? Well, that option is out because then U.S. businesses would have to pay a decent wage to U.S. citizens. No money for schools, the elderly, veterans, upkeep of transportation infrastructure, but plenty for harebrained ideas.

David Hann,

Lawrence