Washington ? President Bush wanted an exchange of workers with Mexico to bring order to the border, but wound up signing a law Thursday that approves partitioning 700 miles of the United States from its southern neighbor.

His White House signing ceremony for the new fence law, just 12 days before the Nov. 7 elections, gave Republicans something to point to as they try to convince voters their party would do a better job of cracking down on illegal immigrants and keeping criminals and terrorists out.

The bill didn’t come with any new funding, and the $1.2 billion that Congress previously approved is not enough to build the full 700 miles of proposed double-layer fence.

A 14-mile stretch under construction in the San Diego area is estimated to cost $126.5 million.