WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate on an 83-16 vote has approved building 370 miles of heavy fencing along the Mexican border at a cost of $1 billion.
The amendment to the contentious immigration bill was sponsored by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who said the double- and triple-fencing system would send "a signal to the world that our border is not open, it is closed," The Los Angeles Times reported.
The vote brought the Senate version of immigration reform closer to a much harsher one passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in December that led to massive protest rallies nationwide in March and April.
The Senate bill contains provisions for most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country and a guest worker program as advocated by President George Bush.
Another amendment adopted Wednesday would require the Department of Labor to certify there was not a U.S. worker who was able, willing, qualified and available to fill the job that was offered to a foreign worker. It passed by a 50-48 vote.
