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Politicians have cast the border as a wildly dangerous place, justifying calls for the U.S. military to step in and hardening the climate for reform in Washington. But spillover violence remains largely a myth. In 2011, USA Today analyzed FBI crime data and found border cities were statistically safer than other parts of the country, even as a poll showed an overwhelming number of Americans thought the reverse. The disconnect infuriates El Paso residents, who say past standards for border security have been met. A failed 2007 immigration bill called for 20,000 border patrol agents. Now there are nearly 21,400. Today about 650 miles of the 2,000-mile border have some sort of barrier, about what was called for in 2007.