Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, is crafting a measure to ask voters next year to spend the money to erect a climb-proof fence wherever possible from Yuma to east of Douglas.

Pearce acknowledged Tuesday he doesn't have a price tag. A similar fence erected by federal officials near San Diego cost about $1.7 million a mile; the Arizona border stretches for 341 miles.

But Pearce said he believes stemming the flow of people crossing the border illegally will end up saving Arizonans far more than what the state spends for health care, education and prison costs on illegal entrants.

He thinks enough can be raised by taxing transfers of money by individuals to their families in other countries. But Pearce said if that doesn't raise enough, the billions of dollars in savings to Arizonans would justify asking residents to raise their own taxes for construction -- or, at least, that they voluntarily forego some tax breaks that Pearce hopes the Legislature will enact next year.

And Pearce said a fence provides a more permanent solution than the $1.5 million cash infusion to four border counties for law enforcement following Monday's decision by Gov. Janet Napolitano to declare a border emergency.

Arizona can't legally build a fence right on the border, which is federal land. But Pearce said it could erect it along the southern property lines of individual landowners.

The idea has some support from those who live with the problem of border crossers, like Jack Ladd whose Cochise County ranch includes about 10 1/2 miles along the border.

"I'm in favor of something that would help," said Ladd.

He said the state would have permission to use the line along his ranch, which includes both deeded land and property he leases from the state.

Bud Strom, whose ranch comes within a quarter mile of the border, also likes the idea.

And Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manuel Ruiz said the current fence along stretches of the frontier in his county -- essentially landing pad strips stuck vertically into the ground -- has not been effective. "I'm sure these residents wouldn't mind having a big enough fence," he said.

Pearce wants a series of poles stuck in the ground next to each other, similar to the San Diego fence. That, he said, could not be climbed nor breached.

But Yuma County Supervisor Tony Reyes called the idea "stupid."

Even assuming some landowners would allow a fence to be erected, Reyes said all that will do is move illegal crossing to another location. He said that's what happened when fences and increased patrols in California and Texas, as well as along a few spots along the Arizona border, pushed people out into the more dangerous desert.

And Reyes noted a large stretch of that desert is owned by the federal government, including a bombing range and a wildlife refuge. "I'm not sure the federal government's going to say 'build a fence,'" he said.

The Tohono O'odham Nation, however, may be more receptive.

Tribal Chairwoman Vivian Juan-Saunders said the tribe has felt the effects of illegal border crossing, from pollution to increased violence. And she noted that two tribal districts have approved vehicle barriers along the border.

But she said there needs to be a recognition of the "unique situation" of the tribe which actually straddles the 75-mile international border, has 1,400 members who live in Mexico and which needs easy access by its U.S. residents to sacred sites in Mexico.

Pearce said even if there were gaps in the fence, every mile built is one less place to cross. And that, he said, allows Border Patrol officers to spend their time monitoring what's left.

The idea also got a chilly reception from Cochise County Supervisor Paul Newman whose district includes a large stretch of border land -- including Ladd's property. He said it would be a waste of state money, as federal officials have plans to build their own fence.

At this point, though, the only cash available is for fences in the Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge and the adjacent Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. And the latter is planned only to stop vehicular traffic.