The US House of Representatives has passed by a wide margin H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act of 2006 in an effort to get at least a more modest immigration bill to the President before the November election. Despite holding a series of very public hearings over the summer on immigration issues, Democrats have scored points using the term the "Do Nothing Congress" pointing out over and over again that the Republicans have done nothing to deal with immigration.  

The legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security to gain "operational control" of the borders within 18 months including preventing illegal entries by immigrants and smuggling of drugs and other contraband. This is to be achieved through the use of technology and personnel and via the construction of hundreds of miles of new border fencing along the border with Mexico and the implementation of a "virtual" fence using surveillance cameras, barriers and other means.  

The bill calls for a study of the construction of a state of the art barrier system on the US border with Canada .  

DHS is required to provide Congress with a progress report within a year of implementation of the legislation.  

The bill is considerably more modest than the massive HR 4337, the enforcement bill passed last December by the House. It does not contain some of the more controversial provisions such as those criminalizing illegal immigration status and making it a felony to provide humanitarian aid to undocumented immigrants.  

House Republicans also unveiled a "Border Security Now" Agenda that contains other goals to be achieved before the election including securing nearly $4 billion to fund the Secure Fence Act and increases in funding to expand the Border Patrol. The GOP also will seek to pass legislation to  

• end the practice of "catch and release" where non-Mexican undocumented immigrants are released from detention before immigration hearings, 

• give immigration officers more discretion to deny entry to individuals they suspect of being members of gangs

• end due process and allow for the immediate deportation aliens convicted of crimes

• make it a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison to build tunnels along the border

• allow criminals who have served their sentences to be jailed indefinitely if they are from countries that do not have deportation treaties with the US . 

The actions of the House were roundly criticized by the pro-immigration community. The National Immigration Forum had this to say about the passage of the bill:  

But this is not about fences, border security, or immigration reform; it is about job security for vulnerable Republicans.  They would rather appear to do something about immigration reform and border security than actually do something about border security and immigration reform.  It is a shame when elected leaders have so little respect for the electorate. 

Fencing, in and of itself, will not do much to improve border security or deter illegal entry.  Only a comprehensive approach that addresses all of the complex aspects of border security and immigration reform will actually achieve the goal of a secure border and an immigration system based on the rule of law.  

The fate of the bill in the US Senate is not known yet. However, attempts to pass enforcement-only legislation in the upper house of Congress failed earlier this year.