June 7, 2007, 10:47PM
Texas senators split on border fence vote


By SUZANNE GAMBOA Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press


WASHINGTON — Texas' senators split their vote Thursday as the Senate defeated a proposal requiring miles of border fence be erected before illegal immigrants could seek legalization or a temporary worker program.

The amendment to the Senate immigration bill, which failed a crucial test vote late Thursday, would have required a congressional vote to certify that border security and workplace enforcement "triggers" were in place, including at least 370 miles of border fencing.

The amendment failed 54-42. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, voted against the amendment. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, voted for it.

Hutchison and Cornyn were among 50 senators who voted late Thursday not to limit debate on the immigration bill. Supporters could muster only 45 votes to limit debate and speed the bill to final passage, 15 short of what was needed on the procedural maneuver.

Cornyn said the proposed bill "does contain several long-term positive changes, such as increased border security and a temporary worker program, but it has several very troubling provisions that I fear, unless fixed, will cause this country to see a repeat of the 1986 amnesty problems."

Hutchison and Cornyn voted for the fence Congress passed last year, which calls for at least 700 miles of fence along the border.

Plans to build the Texas portion of the fence has drawn heavy criticism along the border in Texas, where land and business owners and ranchers and farmers say it is impractical and could have economic repercussions for the state.

"Congress continues to pass laws that do not get enforced and does nothing to ensure they do get enforced," Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said of his amendment.

Local officials have decried what they see as government secrecy on where the fence will be placed, its cost and its effect on the binational way of life in their communities.

"If they didn't catch them at the river, what makes you think you are going to catch them at a fence?" said McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez who was attending a seminar in Washington. "I'm tired of our American government wasting taxpayer money."

Hutchison opposed the measure on the floor.

"The Border Patrol should be the ones deciding exactly where those fences are needed, not the United States Congress, most of whom have not visited Laredo, Texas," she said.

Hutchison and Cornyn slipped an amendment into the broader immigration bill requiring Department of Homeland Security to consider local concerns. It also allowed the agency to use "virtual" fencing, including sensors and other high-tech barriers, where it may be preferrable to actual fencing.

The House Appropriations Committee this week approved a funding bill providing $1 billion for a high tech fence that Customs and Border Protection has contracted with Boeing to build.

The bill also requires the agency to coordinate with other federal agencies before starting any fence on those agencies' land. The measure, included by Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, also says DHS must minimize impact on wildlife and natural resources and consult with affected state and local communites in building the fence.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/4872292.html