President Barack Obama will deploy up to 1,200 more National Guard troops to the U.S. border with Mexico, an administration official told CNN on Tuesday.
In addition, Obama will request $500 million in supplemental funds to current spending for enhanced border protection and law enforcement activities, the official said.
The National Guard troops will help with drug enforcement efforts and intelligence efforts until Customs and Border Patrol can recruit and train additional officers and agents to serve on the border, the official said.
The news followed Obama's lunch meeting with Senate Republicans, where Sen. John McCain of Arizona raised the issue of increased border security. McCain and fellow Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, as well as Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, have called for Obama to send more troops to the border region.
"It's simply not enough," McCain said Tuesday on the Senate floor. He called for 3,000 more National Guard troops just for the Arizona-Mexico border.
Giffords, who had called for the National Guard's deployment immediately after the March 27 murder of Cochise County rancher Rob Krentz, said Obama's step was "the right thing."
"Arizonans know that more boots on the ground means a safer and more secure border," Giffords said in a written statement. "Washington heard our message."
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Those "hillbillies" dumb as a box of rocks.
YOmama ...
Being Mexican American, why is it you don't seem to feel any remorse for your parents coming here illegally? Good to hear they are paying taxes, but why didn't they try to come here legally? Why do we Americans have to continuously clean up the problems of everyone else in the world? Right now, we're focused on Mexico, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, and countless other countries. I found it interesting how Mexico's President came here to scold the U.S. on our border policies, but he did not produce any suggestions on what he would do from the other side. Again, either annex Mexico and flush their puppet government and deal directly with the drug cartels, OR militarize the entire border that the U.S. has with Mexico and enforce our laws.
Good – that's where ALL the National Guard troops belong, NOT in Iraq or Afganistan, bring em all back and post em on the US borders. That's why they call them the National Guard.
Congratulations President Obama,
Looks like you finally had enough time out of your schedule to read the 16 page Immigration Law. It probably made a lot of sense did'nt it? But you were so bent to disagree on it before reading it. I'm happy to see you are finally making an effort to keep potential Hezbollah and Taliban members from just walking across the border. It still should'nt have taken 86 percent of America disagreeing with him and Sarah Palin bashing his Border Efforts on the News to finally do something about this.
How many has he deployed to the Gulf Coast to help clean up BP's mess?
Hopefully the military will issue each pair of troops with an air condsitioner and a .50 cal heavy machine gun, station each pair at 1 mile intervals, 500 yards south of the border with ground sensors and orders to shoot when alerted. That would secure 600 miles that wouldnt need fences or Immigration officials.
There is an e-mail circulating that shows many tons of trash & human waste in Arizonas formerly beautiful lands. Obama could create jobs buy hiring eqjuiptment operators to scoop up the garbage, and dump it over the border lne. Alternaatively, Sherrif Joe could use his pink clad labor force to collect and reposition that filth back where it belongs.
They're too scared to deploy more military there because of posse comitatus, but this is a national security issue with our border being breached, which posse comitatus doesn't pertain to. The military will be dealing with what equates to foreign invaders, whether they are armed or not....they are still invading our coutry. Our military is meant to protect our border and repel invaders.....I can already see someone coming in illegally being shot by a member of the national guard and being sued.....they know they can get away with it because they know we won't do anything. We need to get tough...they come across the border and kill our citizens yet when they get killed coming here ILLEGALLY they get to sue....what a joke
Yes, I do not believe anybody should be allowed to sue if they are in commission of a crime and get killed/maimed, etc., like coming across our border illegally. The troops guarding our borders won't know if a person/persons are armed or what....a lot of them are. And I agree, we need to get tough, because you are right; everyone knows they can take advantage of the US because we tend to let them!
It has to be a ploy just to keep most of us off-balance as obama tries to swing deals with his buddy calderon. I hope and pray these troops will have the authority to fire back when fired upon and are not simply pawns, which is suspected.
Need lots of land mines and tanks; now that'd be border security!
its about freakin time Mr President! Now its time to let the ICE boys do their job in roundin em' up, and shipping em' out!
NO AMNESTY!
ENFORCE CURRENT LAWS!
One and done Obama
This is too little too late. We need way more than 1200 troops. He should start with 12000 and go up from there until the problem is solved, and then he need to go after the people who employ the illegals.
@Betty
Unfortunately no amount of troops will solve the border problem. Ironically, "where" would you get the troops anyway? The bulk of our National Guard troops are deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
With all the commenters on this topic, it would be interested to see how many of "them" would actually bear arms and go to the border to help defend it. My guess would be less than 5% would actually show up. We're all good at pointing fingers at one another when something goes awry, but there are few of us who would belly up to the bar, to stand and be counted.
I agree with your point of going after the companies and people that employ the illegal aliens. Again, ironically, you'd most likely find that most of the AZ politicians employ illegal aliens, as do several other prominent bigwigs at several companies.
You know they take women in the National Guard too.
Is Al Sharpton going to start protesting Obama's order? Will California botcott Washington DC and the whitehouse? Are illegal aliens going to smeer refried beans on the Whitehouse steps?
Immigration Laws are no different than Firearm Laws. Politicians pass new laws and revise the ones we already have to make it look like they are doing something. When in fact they are just covering up the fact they don't enforce the laws they already have or the laws just don't work at all. Why complain about immigration if you don't enforce the laws that are in place. I would love to see the laws enforced, but instead of putting them in jail like they currently do, just deport them.
BP's mess is Bush's mess, let him clean it up.
None of this would have happened had Arizona NOT stepped up to the plate. CA, AZ have been complaining for years and nothing ever happened.
Thank you AZ!
Rediculous. This was on the table from the beginning. The only the the racists in AZ did was make them looks foolish. They did this as an election year political stunt, nothing more. The AZ law was never intended to do anything about immigration. They don;t have the facilities or the funding to actually do anything. Gay marriage and abortion just are not bringing out the GOP votes, so they turned to this stunt. Todays right has been taken over by people that think lieing is the way to get elected.