Senate votes for fence on southern U.S. border

updated 6:39 a.m. ET May 18, 2006

WASHINGTON - The Senate agreed to give millions of illegal immigrants a shot at U.S. citizenship and backed construction of 370 miles of triple-layered fencing along the Mexican border Wednesday, but prospects of the legislation clearing Congress were clouded by a withering attack against President Bush by a prominent House Republican.

Amid increasingly emotional debate over election-year immigration legislation, senators voted 83-16 to add fencing and 500 miles of vehicle barriers along the southern border. It marked the first significant victory in two days for conservatives seeking to place their stamp on the contentious measure.

The prospects were less favorable for their attempt to strip out portions of the legislation that could allow citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants and create new guest worker programs.

Cries of amnesty
The Senate acted in a volatile political environment, as the White House struggled for a second day to ease the concerns of House Republicans who contend that President Bush favors amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Some were not placated.

“Regardless of what the president says, what he is proposing is amnesty,” said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and the lawmaker who would lead House negotiators in any attempt to draft a compromise immigration bill later this year.

He said Bush had “basically turned his back” on a tough border security bill after encouraging the House to pass it last year.

Sensenbrenner’s blast underscored the deep Republican divisions on immigration and coincided with a clash among GOP senators on the Senate floor.

“This is not amnesty, so let’s get the terms right,” Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska lectured fellow Republicans who condemned the bill. “Come on. Let’s stop the nonsense.”

Vituperative pro and con
“It sort of reminds me of the famous line, ‘Methinks thou dost protest too much,”’ responded Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who repeatedly described the legislation as an amnesty bill for lawbreakers.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., addressing Vitter, said, “Call it a banana if you want to ... to call the process that we require under this legislation amnesty frankly distorts the debate and it’s an unfair interpretation of it.”

The clash erupted after Vitter sought a change in the legislation to strip provisions of the bill allowing for guest worker status.

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