Bush ordering up to 6,000 in Guard to border

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Monday night he will send as many as 6,000 National Guard troops to the U.S. border with Mexico to help stop the flood of illegal immigrants, part of an administration drive to win conservative support in Congress for an election-year overhaul of the nation’s tattered immigration laws.

“We do not yet have full control of the border and I am determined to change that,” the president said in pressing for his $1.9 billion plan in a 17-minute prime-time address from the Oval Office.

Bush gave strong support to a plan that would give many of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States an eventual chance of citizenship — a move derided by some conservatives as amnesty. He rejected that term.

“It is neither wise nor realistic to round up millions of people, many with deep roots in the United States and send them across the border,” he said. “There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant and a program of mass deportation.”

The Guard troops would mostly serve two-week stints before rotating out of the assignment, so keeping the force level at 6,000 over the course of a year could require up to 156,000 troops.

Still, Bush insisted, “The United States is not going to militarize the southern border.”

Border Patrol expansion envisioned
Bush said the National Guard troops would fill in temporarily while the nation’s Border Patrol force is expanded. He asked Congress to add 6,000 more Border Patrol agents by the end of his presidency and to add 6,700 more beds to detain illegal immigrants while they are waiting for hearings to determine that they can be sent home.

The Border Patrol would still be responsible for catching and detaining illegal immigrants, with National Guard troops providing intelligence-gathering, surveillance and other support.

Yet the National Guard troops would still be armed and authorized to use force to protect themselves, said Bush homeland security adviser Fran Townsend.

They are to come from the four border states — California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas — but those states’ governors may also seek Guard troops from other states.

Governors react, pro and con
Reaction was mixed among the nation’s governors. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano believes the Guard can help free up federal authorities to focus on border security, but she wants more immigration agents at the border and believes the Guard should not conduct patrols.

The governor “doesn’t favor militarization of the border,” Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L’Ecuyer said Monday.

Rick Wilking / Reuters file U.S. Border Patrol agents look at surveillance camera video from cameras looking at the U.S.-Mexico border at the Laredo Sector offices of the Border Patrol in Laredo, Texas, in this May 2 photo. The cameras capture daytime video and also have night vision and infrared capabilities.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said troops might provide short-term relief, but he does not believe border protection is an appropriate role for the National Guard.

California has thousands of Guard troops in Iraq and might need them in case of earthquakes, floods or other emergencies, Schwarzenegger said.

“So if you have 6,000 in Iraq and send another 6,000 to the border, what do we have left?” Schwarzenegger said Monday.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson does not favor a long-term military presence at the border and said the president will have to move quickly to replace troops with immigration agents.

“While the immediate deployment of troops may create a short-term fix, it creates further problems and concerns” for Guard troops who may be needed for natural disasters, Richardson said in a statement released Friday.

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