House Votes to Boost Border Security; Broader Immigration Issues Remain

The 283-138 vote demonstrated that even as Capitol Hill remained deadlocked over what to do about the millions of illegal immigrants already in this country, bipartisan support existed for significantly toughening border security, especially as the November election neared.

And though House Republicans emphasized that enforcement should come first, they gave no indication of when -- or even whether -- they'd support broader immigration measures, such as a guest worker program, that are supported by the Senate, President Bush and farmers and other businesspeople.

House Republicans promoted the fence bill as the first phase of a larger border-security package they unveiled Thursday. It includes a measure that would make it a crime to dig border tunnels and another that would end a provision in immigration law that protects Salvadorans from deportation.

In the Los Angeles area, and increasingly in other parts of the nation, gangs with roots in El Salvador are a significant crime problem.

The fence bill mandates the construction of 700 miles of fencing along several sections of the 2,000-mile border: around Tecate and Calexico, Calif., along most of the Arizona stretch, and in heavily populated areas of Texas and New Mexico.

The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to prevent "all unlawful entries into the United States" within 18 months after the bill is enacted; urges the department to allow Border Patrol agents to use greater force against smuggler vehicles; and orders a study on security at the northern border with Canada.

The California delegation split mostly along party lines; only two Democrats, Dennis Cardoza of Atwater and Jim Costa of Fresno, joined all 20 Republicans in supporting the bill.

House leaders said they were working with the Senate to determine how to get the measures to Bush as quickly as possible. House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said Congress should finish considering all of them by the end of September.

"Republicans believe we can have a no-penetration border," said House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). Of the fence proposal, he said: "If we build it, they will no longer come illegally."