Jim DeMint Wants to Finish Mexican Border Fence — as Part of FinReg Bill

The South Carolina Republican announced today that he’s hoping to amend the finance reform bill working its way (slowly) across the Senate floor with a provision requiring the Department of Homeland Security to erect 700 miles of border fence within a year. A similar amendment, also offered by DeMint, passed the Senate last summer as part of a DHS funding bill, but Democrats stripped the language out before sending the legislation on to the White House.

“Americans have demanded a real fence to combat the very real problems of illegal immigration that have led to human trafficking, drug trafficking, kidnapping and violence on our border,” DeMint said in a statement. “Congress will never be able to achieve long-term reform to create a legal immigration system that works until we secure our borders.”

The amendment will require the support of 60 senators to pass. Last year’s version attracted only 54.

h/t: The Hill.