The governors of Texas, Arizona, California and New Mexico want the National Guard's help in securing the Mexican border. The
San Antonio Express-News reported recently that "border czar" Alan Bersin said
the federal government hasn't ruled out using the National Guard for border security in southwestern states.
About 6,000 National Guard members were sent to the border in 2006.
President Barack Obama
has asked Congress for a quarter of a billion dollars to send troops to the border but also said he does not want to set a military zone between the U.S. and Mexico, according to
The Washington Post. And there is a question about who would control the forces -- Homeland Security or the Defense Department.
But there are other issues. If we need that much additional security on the borders, shouldn't border agencies be given the manpower they need without relying on the already overstretched military?
Last week, the Obama administration said it was sending more support, but not military support.
McClatchy newspapers reported:
"In the next 45 days, the administration will be using money from the economic stimulus to relocate 100 Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents to the border to boost a program aimed at disrupting arms trafficking between the two countries. Homeland Security is doubling border enforcement task forces, to 190 officers, and sending 16 new Drug Enforcement Administration agents to posts near the border."
The Washington Post story included this passage:
" 'It should not be that we always rely on the Department of Defense to fulfill some need,' said Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., head of U.S. Northern Command, which is responsible for defending the continental United States.
"Border law enforcement agencies should have adequate funds to do their job, he said. If the Guard is tapped, it should be for capabilities 'that do not exist elsewhere in government,' Renuart said. 'When we send the National Guard, they go with specific missions, with specific purposes. And we put some duration on that so there is an end state.'
"Homeland security officials and governors counter that there is a legitimate need for troops to back up border agencies against the most serious threat to the Southwest and that a deployment would not represent a new military mission. Under a 1989 law, the National Guard assigns 577 troops to help states with anti-drug programs, which 'can easily expand,' the four governors wrote Congress in April."
What does your governor think about sending National Guard troops from your state to the border?
Our beloved country is under invasion. Of coruse we need...
