US House Republicans voted on Thursday night to toughen a border security bill by requiring the Department of Homeland Security to build five fences along 1,123km of the US border with Mexico to block the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into this country.
The amendment to the bill would require the construction of the fences along stretches of land in California, New Mexico, Texas and Arizona that have been deemed among the most porous corridors of the border.
The vote on the amendment was a victory for conservatives who had long sought to build fences along the Mexican border. But the vote was sharply assailed by Democrats, who compared the fences to the Berlin Wall in Germany. Twelve Republicans also voted against the amendment.
Representative David Dreier, a California Republican, hailed the fences as a necessary tool to ensure border security. Construction of the barriers is to include two layers of reinforced fencing, cameras, lighting and sensors near Tecate and Calexico on the California border; Columbus, New Mexico; and El Paso, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Laredo and Brownsville in Texas.
The border security bill, which cracks down on illegal immigration and now mandates the construction of the fences, was expected to pass the House yesterday.
"This amendment allows us to target our federal resources where they are needed most: five specific border crossings with the highest number of immigrant deaths, instances of drug smuggling and illegal crossings," Dreier said.
The vote on the amendment came on a day when the tough border security bill survived an unexpected tactical challenge from several Republicans. The bill was criticized by some moderates because it does not grant millions of undocumented workers the right to work temporarily in the US and by some conservatives who argued that the measure was not tough enough.
The unusual revolt highlighted the schism within the Republican Party over the volatile issue of immigration. Business leaders, traditional allies of the party, have lobbied fiercely against the bill, which contains strict employment verification requirements that many executives view as a burden.
Republican leaders stamped out the rebellion after an emergency meeting. But one Republican, Jim Kolbe of Arizona, said he and his allies would continue to try to stop the bill, which has been endorsed by the Republican leadership and some conservatives but attacked by business executives, church leaders and advocates for immigrants.
The bill would require mandatory detention of many immigrants, stiffen the penalties for employers who hire them and broaden the immigrant-smuggling statute to include employees of social service agencies and church groups who offer services to undocumented workers.
It would not create the temporary guest worker program that US President George W. Bush has urged to legalize the status of the 11 million illegal immigrants believed to be living in this country.
Seeking to sink the legislation, several Republicans took the tactical step on Thursday of voting against a rule that had to pass to allow the measure to go up for a vote. Some conservatives, who felt the bill was not tough enough, also voted against the rule.
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