In the continuing immigration bill fiasco in Washington, the Senate has approved an amendment allowing a 370 mile, triple layer fence between the United States and Mexico on our southern border:
The Senate endorsed a chance at citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants Wednesday but also voted to build 370 miles of triple- layered fencing along the Mexican border in increasingly emotional debate over election-year immigration legislation.
Taken together, the votes gave fresh momentum to legislation that closely follows President Bush’s call for a major overhaul of the nation’s troubled immigration system.
The vote was 66-33 against a proposal that would have removed provisions giving illegal immigrants in the country more than two years an eventual chance at citizenship.
A few minutes earlier, the Senate had voted 83-16 in favor of construction of the fence and 500 miles of vehicle barriers, the first significant victory in two days for conservatives seeking to place their stamp on the measure.
Powerline has more:
Senator Jeff Sessions’ amendment to the Senate’s immigration bill, which requires the construction of a fence and erection of vehicle barriers, passed the Senate this afternoon. The Associated Press’ report conveys a sense of the passions that were generated by the floor debate. The vote wasn’t close, however; the Sessions amendment passed 83-16. Which means that even most Democrats have figured out how serious Americans are on the issue of border security.
In a related note, Right Wing News is carrying a quote from Rush Limbaugh today communicating how the issue of immigration is affecting the conservative base:
“I’ll tell you what, this issue is causing more divisions in the Republican Party than any issue that I can recall in a long time, including the Dubai Ports deal. I can’t recall an issue. I’ve been doing this for 18 years. It will be 18 years in August, a big anniversary coming up. I can’t remember. I’m trying to think. There have been some, but I can’t think of any single issue which has Republicans, slash, conservatives more up in arms than this one — and particularly with the apparent lack of response at the highest levels of government, House, Senate, White House.
The House Bank was a big deal, and the House Post Office, and some of those corruption scandals that existed back in the late eighties and early nineties, but this is incredible.” - Rush Limbaugh
