Arizona lawmaker ready to rebuild parts of border fence with private funds

PHOENIX — Arizona State Sen. Steve Smith will soon unveil his plans to build a better border fence, using money raised through private donations.

Smith started racking up money two years ago at buildtheborderfence.com. The site lists $193,000 has been collected online out of a total of about $300,000. Smith will spend the money to plug gaps in fence coverage, including areas where there is no fence at all or have only barbed wire and logs.

“Believe it or not we can do significant mileage coverage, and I put significant mileage coverage anywhere between five and ten miles,” Smith said.

Smith said he wants to start building the fence in the Tucson sector, which accounts for the majority of illegal crossings and drug trafficking in the United States.

“I think once we implement what we’re doing it can be easily copied, and frankly I think at a fraction of the cost of what we see our federal government do,” Smith said.

The plan is close to being finalized, according to Smith. The details should be disclosed in the coming weeks after a legal review is complete.

Smith hopes to begin construction by the end of the year.