Bush signs bill authorizing fence along border with Mexico

President Bush on Thursday signed legislation authorizing 700 miles of fencing along the southern U.S. border, providing GOP candidates with a new accomplishment to brandish as they head into an increasingly difficult battle to guard their majorities in Congress.

The president waited until just 12 days before the election to sign the bill, which Republicans hope will strike a chord with conservative voters and others concerned about illegal immigration. Bush, who signed the legislation during a brief ceremony at the White House, put in a pitch for the broader immigration bill he backs.

"There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic pass to citizenship for every illegal immigrant and a program of mass deportation," Bush said. "And I look forward to working with Congress to find that middle ground."

Leading Democrats scorned the move. "This morning, the president plans to sign legislation authorizing a 700-mile border fence that his own administration does not plan to build and for which the Republican Congress has not provided construction money," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement. "This fence that will not actually be built is a perfect symbol of the Republicans' unwillingness to make controlling our borders a priority."

The legislation also increases the number of vehicle barriers and checkpoints and the use of advanced cameras, satellites, and unmanned aerial vehicles to increase enforcement, according to a White House summary. On hand for the Bush event were Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., and senior administration border security officials.