Bush backs 370-mile fence along border

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YUMA, Ariz. -- The Bush administration announced yesterday it supported the Senate amendment calling for 370 miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, marking the first time it is has endorsed a specific amount of fencing.

But White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters traveling on Air Force One yesterday he would not get into a discussion on whether the Bush administration would also support the fence proposed in last year's House bill, which calls for 698 miles of fence to be built.

Hours later, after touring a section of the border at San Luis, Ariz., President Bush told an audience here at the U.S. Border Patrol station in Yuma that fences make sense -- in some cases.

"We saw some new fencing taking place. It makes sense to use fencing along the border in key locations in order to do our job," Mr. Bush said.

The administration yesterday sent to Congress a $1.9 billion immigration spending request, covering 1,000 of the 6,000 new Border Patrol agents Mr. Bush says will be hired over the next two years, and paying for temporary deployment of the 6,000 National Guard troops the president called for Monday.

He also gave his strongest praise yet of the full proposal now in the Senate, calling it "a good immigration bill." That bill includes a right to citizenship for illegal aliens who have been in the country more than two years, and a future foreign worker program that would also offer a path to citizenship -- something Mr. Bush's own proposal does not do.

Some members of Congress, in looking over the new spending request, said Mr. Bush was late in realizing the need for more border enforcement.

"Let me get this straight: when it comes to border security, the president was against it before he was for it," said Sen. Robert C. Byrd, West Virginia Democrat, reprising a line that haunted Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign.

Mr. Byrd said Mr. Bush had opposed the senator's efforts to boost immigration enforcement spending nine times since 2002, and questioned whether Mr. Bush is now sincere in his commitment.

"If we had spent that money beginning in 2002, we would not be calling on the National Guard today," he said.