The Senate will be taking up the House bill that passed last week. The Secure Fence Act of 2006 (HR 6061) this morning.

(Update See my live coverage of the debate on cloture)

This bill proposes 700 miles of double layer border fence. For more on where this fencing will be built see my initial article on the border fence

To see how your House Representative voted on this bill see the voting results.

Senator Frist filed cloture on a motion vote on the bill a few days ago. On his website he wrote the following:

A nation that can’t secure its borders can’t secure its destiny or administer its laws. And the reality is that America’s borders today are inexcusably porous.

One of the most important and most effective ways that we can stop illegal immigration is through the construction and proper maintenance of physical fences along the highest trafficked, most commonly violated sections of our border with Mexico.

See Senator Bill Frist's record on immigration where it shows that he has a fairly good record on border security, but is lacking in almost every other issue related to immigration reform.

Whether this is election grandstanding or not I don't particularly care. Many others are saying that anything less than the whole 2000 miles being built is a failure, but I don't see it that way. The proposed 700 miles is in the most porous areas of our border and getting that built first is a priority in my opinion.

We can focus on the rest at a later date if it proves to be needed.

Daily Pundit says it will just give others an excuse to stop there.

Politically, it’s as dangerous as a phony virtual fence because the open borders/amnesty gang will hold it up as proof sufficient action has been taken -- so it’s OK to open the floodgates. Since the Senate will try to pull that stunt in any event, the House would have done much better to send them legislation for a full 2,000-mile physical fence.

Interior enforcement against employers who hire illegal aliens will do much to solve this issue, but a fence ensures that once deported it's not quite so easy to come back. Does it solve the problem altogether? No. Do we need to pass a single bill all at once with every detail? No. We can put these things through one at a time.

This is not just about immigration, but about homeland security as well. Having a wide open border is too dangerous to ignore and I applaud those who are supporting this bill.

See my live coverage of the debate on cloture

Here's some other peoples thought on the border fence.

Captain's Quarters
Say Anything
Ace of Spades