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US President George W. Bush signed a bill on Thursday that authorizes the construction of 700 miles (1,126 km) of fence along the US-Mexico border.

 "This bill will help protect the American people. This bill will make our borders more secure," Bush said at the signing ceremony.

The bill, The Secure Fence Act of 2006, authorizes the construction of 700 miles additional fencing along the US border with Mexico; authorizes more vehicle barriers, checkpoints, and lighting to help prevent people from entering the country illegally; and authorizes the Homeland Security Department to use more advanced technology like cameras, satellites, and unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor the border.

"We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility serious," Bush said.

Terming the bill an important step toward immigration reform, the president renewed his call for a temporary worker plan which he said would help reduce pressure on the border.

He said the United States must face the reality that millions of illegal immigrants were already in the country, and there was a "rational middle ground between granting an automatic pass to citizenship for every illegal immigrant and a program of mass deportation."

"I look forward to working with Congress to find that middle ground," he said.

While the fence was criticized by Mexican officials, Democrats called the bill a political stunt and might risk straining relations with Mexico.

The Republican-controlled Congress passed the legislation weeks ago, but the bill was not sent to Bush when the mid-term congressional elections were getting closer.

The bill to build a fence along the southern US border was "a bumper-sticker solution that Republicans hope will provide cover for their stunning failure to produce comprehensive immigration reform," Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy said.

Mexican president-elect Felipe Calderon, who is in Ottawa for a two-day visit on Thursday, called the US plan to build a wall on the Mexican border a "grave error" and urged Canada to help oppose the "deplorable action."

"The wall will not solve any problem. Humanity made a huge mistake by building the Berlin Wall, and I believe that today the United States is committing a grave error in building the wall on our border," Calderon said during a press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper after talks on bilateral and North American issues.

Calderon said the wall will be expensive and counter-productive to trade and security, predicting it will lead to the deaths of more Mexicans at the southern border, where more than 400 died trying to cross illegally last year.

He urged Canada to help "seek out more efficient mechanisms that lead to greater security for the three nations without damaging our interests as this wall does."
 
Calling Calderon a man of strong principle and Mexico a key trading partner, Harper spoke out against "unnecessary barriers between our countries," saying they act as barriers to trade and tourism. But he stressed that there are differences in the situation between Mexico and the United States and that between Canada and the US.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2006)