Last modified: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 11:04 AM PDT Our opinion: Border fence boondoggle? Higher fuel costs, a rise in the price of steel and increased outlays for labor all combined to prompt the Bush administration to ask Congress for an extra $400 million to finish the once-vaunted border fence in the southwestern United States.   The ambitious anti-terror mechanism — about half-built now — needs the additional funds or work will stop, government officials said last week.   The recent news personifies what was, in theory, a viable idea but in practice has all the symptoms of yet another government spending boondoggle.   The fence is designed, apparently, to solve two lingering issues: security in the age of terrorism and the illegal immigration paradox.   Holes along the border, some officials assert, are perfect places for would-be terrorists to enter America, while the new structure is seen by some as a way to cut down on illegal entry into the United States.   Yet few have openly claimed the fence will stop illegal immigration, which is a good thing because it won’t.   While the fence may help with overall security, in the end it will take more border patrol agents, more people, in effect, to seal the border effectively.   Which brings us back to the fence itself.   The idea for the structure evolved out of the immigration debate and security concerns. But is it going to be a good buy for taxpayers? Would the same amount of money used on the fence have been better spent on more border patrol agents and high-tech gadgets to conduct surveillance?   These are good questions and ones Americans should ask, especially now that the Bush administration is asking for another $400 million.