WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- For the second time within a year, the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted for the building of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

    The Republican-sponsored bill, which passed the House on a 283-138 vote, will authorize the U.S. government to fence a third of the 3,340-km-long border, in order to stop the influx of illegal immigrants and the more dangerous terrorists.

    Last December, the House first passed the fence proposal as part of a broader bill on illegal immigration.

    Republicans said the impetus of the second vote was to show voters "we can take meaningful action to secure the border."

    Rep. Ed Royce, a Californian Republican, said "we have to come to grips with the fact that our Border Patrol agents need a border fence on our southern border .. where we're now facing infiltration by members of terrorist organizations like Hezbollah."

    Democrats called the move a political ploy, saying "Republicans want voters to think that Osama bin Laden is heading north in a sombrero."

    The bill does not cover the cost of the fence.

    Republicans estimated that the fence would cost more than 2 billion U.S. dollars, while Democrats put the cost at 7 billion dollars.

    In May, the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill that favors building a border fence of about 600 km as well as a path to legal status for millions of illegal immigrants already in the country.

    The two chambers have remained so far apart on the issue that House leaders have not tried to broker a compromise. Enditem