Senate Votes to Erect a 350-mile Fence along the Mexican Border

...and who, of the Rethug supporters, are making a fortune off the fence

Senate Votes to Erect a 350-mile Fence along the Mexican Border:

"WASHINGTON - The Senate called Wednesday for at least 350 miles of new triple-layered fencing on porous sections of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border to crack down on illegal immigration and smuggling.

The $1 billion proposal, approved by a vote of 83-16, is less extensive than a 700-mile fence proposed by the House of Representatives, but it puts both chambers of Congress in support of building expanded barriers across the southwestern border.

The Mexican government has denounced the House proposal as 'shameful,' but it didn't issue an immediate reaction to the Senate proposal, which was approved as an amendment to a comprehensive immigration bill.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said that his amendment tracks a plan by the Department of Homeland Security to construct fences in areas frequently used by smugglers and illegal immigrants.

The department would determine the locations, but Sessions indicated that much of the fencing would be in Arizona and California and would be linked to a 20-mile fence already constructed near San Diego. The plan also calls for 500 miles of additional vehicle barriers.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has opposed barriers along the full length of the border, but he supports renewed and expanded barriers in vulnerable areas.
The 700-mile fence that the House included in an enforcement-oriented immigration bill in December would cost an estimated $2.2 billion. "