Arizona launches site to net cash for border fence

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. -- Arizona has launched a fundraising website as the first step in a newly authorized project to use private donations and inmate labor to build fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The buildtheborderfence.com site went live early Wednesday morning, and Arizona Senate spokesman Mike Philipsen said the site received 884 online donations totaling just more than $39,000 by the end of the afternoon.

According to Philipsen, initial online donations ranged from the minimum of $5 to "dozens in the $250 to $500 range."

Sen. Steve Smith, a Republican who sponsored the legislation authorizing the fence project, has said his initial goal is to raise $50 million.