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WASHINGTON — The House has voted for the second time in a year to erect a fence along portions of the U.S.-Mexican border, part of a Republican effort to keep illegal immigration an issue before voters.

A new 700 miles of double-layered fencing won approval on a 283-138 vote Thursday, a bigger margin than last December when the House passed it as part of a broader bill that also would have made being an illegal immigrant a felony. The nearly 2,000-mile border now has about 75 miles of fencing.

In New Mexico, the fence would run from Columbus to about 10 miles west of El Paso.

Rep. Steve Pearce, a Hobbs Republican, said he still believes the fence is impractical with no one to man it, but he voted for the bill because, "at some point we just need to move on a security bill."

Rep. Heather Wilson, an Albuquerque Republican, also voted for the bill. She said she's skeptical of the fence but says the bill has other good features, like requiring the Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard to create plans to control the border.

Rep. Tom Udall, a Santa Fe Democrat, voted against the bill. He said Congress should be beefing up border security through a "round-the-clock surveillance system" and more Border Patrol agents, "not wasting time on a political ploy."

The House bill passed in December and one passed by the Senate int May are so far apart on issues that Republican leaders haven't even tried to negotiate a compromise.

The main difference is that the Senate bill would provide legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S., a concept supported by President Bush but opposed by most House Republicans. The Senate bill calls for 370 miles of fencing along the Mexican border.

Supporters of the new House bill said the new fencing would let Border Patrol agents focus more on apprehending illegal immigrants crossing from Mexico rather than having to man the entire border.

The bill passed Thursday doesn't pay for the fence. Republicans, estimating the cost at more than $2 billion, said that will be covered in a later spending bill.