The White House on Thursday endorsed a Senate proposal to build 370 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border in a bid to convince the House to grant legal status to illegal immigrants.
Though President Bush told CNN in March that “it?s impractical to fence off the border,” he now supports a triple-layer fence along several hundred miles of the 2,000-mile border.
“In some places, you?re going to need a fence,” White House Press Secretary Tony Snow told reporters on Air Force One. “There are places where fences are appropriate and where they are not.”
By backing the Senate fence proposal, Bush is hoping to win over House Republicans who are demanding that the border be secured before illegal immigrants are offered legal status as guest workers. The House passed a border security bill in December that calls for 698 miles of fencing, but no guest-worker program.
The Senate is crafting an immigration reform bill that includes both a fence and a guest-worker program. Bush wants House Republicans to embrace the Senate?s guest-worker program if and when the two versions of the legislation are reconciled in a conference committee.
The president endorsed the fence just three days after announcing he would send 6,000 National Guard troops to help secure the border. Though the gestures may win over some Republicans, they could also alienate Democrats who are more focused on granting guest-worker status to millions of illegal immigrants.
Bush met with National Guard troops and Border Patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border during a visit to this desert town Thursday. The visit came as the White House asked Congress for $1.9 billion to pay for a variety of border security measures.
