Senators Agree to 'Border Surge,' 700-Mile Fence

How do you get Republicans to sign onto an immigration bill? You build a danged fence—a lot of danged fence. A bipartisan group of senators has agreed to bolster the border security provisions in the Senate's immigration reform bill, in the hopes of winning over more GOP votes, sources tell NBC News. The deal would double the size of the border patrol and mandate 700 miles of border fencing, in what the senators are terming a "border surge."

Republicans John Hoeven and Bob Corker negotiated the deal with Gang of 8 members Chuck Schumer, Bob Menendez, John McCain, and Lindsey Graham. "What we're trying to do is put in place measures that to any reasonable person would be an overwhelming effort to secure our border short of shooting anybody who comes across," Graham told reporters yesterday.