Bush ready to OK border barrier

By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published September 22, 2006

President Bush will sign the bill to construct 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border if it is approved by the Senate, the White House said, as Congress continued yesterday drafting more legislation to combat illegal immigration.
On Wednesday night, Mr. Bush told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he would sign the bill if approved by the Senate, which spent the past two days debating whether they should even consider the fence bill.
Late yesterday, Democrats finally agreed to allow the bill to be taken up.
The House, meanwhile, approved a slew of new bills to speed the deportation of illegal aliens, outlaw tunneling under the border and close loopholes that allow criminal aliens to be released into the U.S.