WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Congress has ordered construction of 700 miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexican border in a move Mexico says will hurt relations between the two countries.
The Senate voted 80-19, with 26 Democrats joining 54 Republicans in support, Friday night before recessing for the fall political campaigns.
President Bush has said he would sign it.
Critics claim the $1.2 billion fence would do little to address the underlying economic, social and law enforcement problems, or to prevent others from slipping across the border, The Washington Post reported.
A United Press International analysis said the fence's success would be determined by improved economic growth in Mexico and crackdowns on U.S. employment of illegal immigrants.
Mexico's Foreign Relations Department called the fence "a political answer rather than a viable solution."
Mexican President Vicente Fox called it "shameful" and compared it to the Berlin Wall, which divided Germany.
