Land disputes and rising costs will prevent the Bush Administration from completing the 670 miles of border fence that Congress mandated, the Washington Post reports. A deadline for the end of the year was set in the Secure Fence Act of 2006. So far, the administration has completed about half the required amount.

What are the costs? $2.8 million a mile for vehicle barriers and $7.5 million a mile for pedestrian barriers. This, along with the cost of acquiring private land (and fighting in court for the right to do so) are putting the project over-budget by $400 million. A “virtual fence,” to be constructed by Boeing, is facing similar setbacks.

Meanwhile, immigration hardliners are calling for private citizens to provide their own border protection. Though vigilante groups like the Minutemen and Texas Border Volunteers have been at it for a while, the Border Fence Project is a little more ambitious. They are requesting donations of cameras, lighting and motion sensors, along with volunteers to be “cyber minutemen,” for a total cost of $50 million for the whole southern border. The ambitious group already boasts “over 4.7 miles of fencing built.”

Despite the Border Fence Project’s efforts, Mexican police discovered a 400-foot tunnel (complete with an elevator and air conditioning) under construction last week. The tunnel would have connected the Mexican city of Mexicali with California.

(Photo courtesy U.S. House of Representatives)