http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4188274.html


House authorizes 700 miles of fence
•Republicans act to salvage part of immigration bill

By BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - House Republicans pushed through legislation Thursday to build 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, trying to salvage part of a broader immigration bill that has stalled.

"The fact that we can't do everything does not mean we should do nothing," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.

The legislation passed 238-138, with 64 Democrats joining all but six Republicans in voting for the measure.

It was unclear whether the Senate, which has approved 370 miles of fencing, would take up the separate House measure in the two weeks remaining before lawmakers leave to campaign for re-election. The Senate has also included $1.8 billion in a defense spending bill for building a fence.

The House bill provides no funding for the fence. Republicans previously estimated the barrier would cost $2.2 billion.

Democrats criticized the legislation as an election-year stunt that underscored the GOP's failure to agree on long-term immigration changes.

The House's original immigration bill called for a variety of enforcement measures against illegal immigration. The Senate version included similar security measures plus a guest-worker program and a chance for citizenship for illegal immigrants; the chambers have not tried to formally negotiate about the differences.

"Why are we here?" Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., asked Thursday. "We got an election. So you got to do something to put on a bumper sticker."

Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, a former Border Patrol agent, criticized making the fence a top priority when, he said, there were more pressing needs, like more law enforcement personnel on the border.

The legislation would authorize building layered, reinforced fencing along the 2,000-mile Southwest border, including about 300 miles of barriers in Texas running from Laredo to Brownsville, from outside Del Rio to Eagle Pass, and from a segment of the New Mexico border to east of El Paso.

Immigration has emerged as an issue in the Nov. 7 congressional elections, with House Republicans saying that many of their conservative supporters want hard-line measures to keep out illegal immigrants.

In Arizona this week, a conservative Republican who backed strict border enforcement won a primary for an open House seat over a moderate candidate backed by GOP leaders.

Outside of the border areas, it is unclear how significant the immigration issue will be in the upcoming election. A Pew Research Center Poll, conducted Sept. 6-10, and released Thursday, found that immigration ranked behind Iraq, terrorism and economy as the most important issues for voters.

Chronicle reporter Patty Reinert contributed to this report.

bennett.roth@chron.com