Fenced out?

"Good fences make good neighbors," American poet Robert Frost once wrote. Many members of the United States Congress agree. In December, the House passed a tough new bill to combat illegal immigration. If passed in the Senate and signed by President George W. Bush, the measure would create a new, 698-mile-long high-tech fence along part of the 2,000-mile border between the U.S. and Mexico. It would also make illegal crossings a federal crime.

An estimated 11 million illegal immigrants now live in the U.S. Most are from Mexico. Some U.S. lawmakers say that the continuing flow of people poses a threat to national security and places a heavy burden on education, health care, and other social services. Under the proposed law, U.S. employers would be required to ensure that their workers are legal. Any U.S. citizen caught driving an illegal immigrant could be arrested as an "alien smuggler."

President Bush supports parts of the bill. But he also wants to include a guest-worker program. That would allow millions of illegal workers now in the U.S. to apply for temporary work status.

Critics say that the proposed law's harsh penalties would not solve the problem of illegal immigration. What do you think? Should a new fence be built? Why or why not?