Passing revamp of immigration may be easy part

0 Comments | USA TODAY, May, 2006 | by Kathy Kiely

WASHINGTON -- Congress is having a difficult time reaching an agreement on how to overhaul the nation's immigration and border security systems. Finding the money, manpower and technology to make a fix work may be even more difficult.

An immigration enforcement bill the House of Representatives passed in December would cost $1.9 billion by 2010, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That does not include a proposed 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. The CBO is still trying to compute the cost.

There are no cost estimates yet for Senate proposals. There is evidence that the plans for keeping tabs on U.S. visitors and securing the nation's borders will be challenging:

*Securing the borders. In 2004, President Bush signed a law doubling the...