ianstone
07-19-2010, 04:02 PM
U.S. troops to arrive at U.S.-Mexico border August 1
By Jeremy Pelofsky (http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=jeremy.pelofsky&)
WASHINGTON | Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:29pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. National Guard troops will begin arriving along the U.S. border with Mexico (http://www.reuters.com/places/mexico) on August 1 to help bolster security as the Obama administration tries to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, weapons and narcotics, U.S. officials said on Monday.
In addition to the deployment of National Guard troops, some 300 more Customs and Border Protection agents and officers will be sent to the border region along with additional helicopters and other surveillance equipment, they said.
"The border is more resourced and more secure than it's ever been, but the work continues and the challenge remains," said Alan Bersin, commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection agency.
The administration has pledged to send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the area for a year and to seek $600 million for, among other things, 1,000 new border patrol agents and unmanned aerial detection systems.
Violence along the border has been escalating in recent years but Bersin said illegal crossings have begun to decline while seizures of weapons and drugs have gone up.
The largest share of the National Guard force -- 524 troops -- will go to Arizona where state officials have complained bitterly about lack of security. Legislators there have passed a new strict immigration law to try to crack down on illegal immigrants.
A representative for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer was not immediately available for comment on the deployment plans.
The Obama administration on Thursday goes to federal court to try to block the state's new immigration law, which requires state and local police to investigate the immigration status of anyone they reasonably suspect of being an illegal immigrant.
The Justice Department has sued the state and sought to block the law from taking effect on July 29, stating that it violates the U.S. Constitution because immigration laws are supposed to be the federal government's responsibility.
Arizona officials have countered that the federal government has failed to address the problem of illegal immigration and the state had to pass its own law. There are 10.8 million illegal immigrants believed to be living in the United States.
In addition to the troops, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said it would focus more on Arizona, including opening an office to curb cross-border crime and sending more attorneys to the Tucson area to prosecute criminals who have illegally re-entered the United States.
Bersin said negotiations continued with the Mexican government about using unmanned aerial vehicles to conduct surveillance flights on Mexico (http://www.reuters.com/places/mexico)'s side of the border, but that no agreement had yet been reached.
(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor (http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=tim.gaynor&) in Phoenix; editing by David Alexander (http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=david.alexander&) and Mohammad Zargham (http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=mohammad.zargham&))
By Jeremy Pelofsky (http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=jeremy.pelofsky&)
WASHINGTON | Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:29pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. National Guard troops will begin arriving along the U.S. border with Mexico (http://www.reuters.com/places/mexico) on August 1 to help bolster security as the Obama administration tries to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, weapons and narcotics, U.S. officials said on Monday.
In addition to the deployment of National Guard troops, some 300 more Customs and Border Protection agents and officers will be sent to the border region along with additional helicopters and other surveillance equipment, they said.
"The border is more resourced and more secure than it's ever been, but the work continues and the challenge remains," said Alan Bersin, commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection agency.
The administration has pledged to send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the area for a year and to seek $600 million for, among other things, 1,000 new border patrol agents and unmanned aerial detection systems.
Violence along the border has been escalating in recent years but Bersin said illegal crossings have begun to decline while seizures of weapons and drugs have gone up.
The largest share of the National Guard force -- 524 troops -- will go to Arizona where state officials have complained bitterly about lack of security. Legislators there have passed a new strict immigration law to try to crack down on illegal immigrants.
A representative for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer was not immediately available for comment on the deployment plans.
The Obama administration on Thursday goes to federal court to try to block the state's new immigration law, which requires state and local police to investigate the immigration status of anyone they reasonably suspect of being an illegal immigrant.
The Justice Department has sued the state and sought to block the law from taking effect on July 29, stating that it violates the U.S. Constitution because immigration laws are supposed to be the federal government's responsibility.
Arizona officials have countered that the federal government has failed to address the problem of illegal immigration and the state had to pass its own law. There are 10.8 million illegal immigrants believed to be living in the United States.
In addition to the troops, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said it would focus more on Arizona, including opening an office to curb cross-border crime and sending more attorneys to the Tucson area to prosecute criminals who have illegally re-entered the United States.
Bersin said negotiations continued with the Mexican government about using unmanned aerial vehicles to conduct surveillance flights on Mexico (http://www.reuters.com/places/mexico)'s side of the border, but that no agreement had yet been reached.
(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor (http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=tim.gaynor&) in Phoenix; editing by David Alexander (http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=david.alexander&) and Mohammad Zargham (http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=mohammad.zargham&))