Bush to outline plan in Monday night Oval Office address
Monday, May 15, 2006; Posted: 12:15 p.m. EDT (16:15 GMT)
A warning sign on Interstate 5, north of the U.S.-Mexico border on Saturday in San Ysidro, California.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush will order fewer than 10,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to support Border Patrol agents in stopping illegal immigration, a senior administration official said Monday.
Bush will outline his plan in a televised speech to the nation at 8 p.m. ET Monday, the official said.
The troops -- about 3 percent of all National Guard units -- will not be involved in apprehending illegal immigrants, the official said.
Currently there are about 350 troops on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The president's speech comes as conservative Republicans -- many of whom are running in midterm elections -- support new legislation aimed at increasing punishment for people who enter the United States illegally. The issue also has prompted nationwide protests by hundreds of thousands of immigration supporters over the past weeks.
White House counselor Dan Bartlett said Monday that the move does not represent "a militarization of the borders," The Associated Press reported.
Appearing on CBS' "The Early Show," Bartlett said Guard forces sent to the area "will not have law enforcement responsibilities or powers. They will be there in a supportive role. ... It's about a constitutional responsibility to enforce our borders," the AP reported.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D- Nevada, expressed concern Monday about overburdening National Guard units, including those that may have served overseas.
"I'm personally glad the president is now engaged in the dispute as it relates to our borders and immigration generally," Reid said. "... The troops really are ... beleaguered, they're overworked, and we have to make sure that they have the ability to do this."
The National Guard mission to the war in Iraq is declining. A year ago, more than 50,000 National Guard troops were serving in Iraq, while today about 23,000 remain.
While backing up the federal border patrols, the military would remain largely out of sight, according to National Guard sources.
The troops will be under the control of the four border states -- Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California -- although the federal government will foot the bill for their deployment.
National Guard planners are talking to the governors from each of the four states to reach separate agreements, according to National Guard sources.
Mexican President Vicente Fox said in a written statement Sunday that he has told Bush that he's worried about a U.S. move to "militarize" the roughly 2,000-mile border, one of the longest unfortified frontiers in the world.
The proposal has drawn criticism from members of both major U.S. parties, with one key Republican senator saying Sunday he has "a lot of questions" about the idea.
But Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist dismissed the concerns, saying the use of National Guard troops is the only short-term solution to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.
"The only thing that we can do to secure our borders right now is to give our states help, and that is best done through the National Guard," the Tennessee Republican told CNN's "Late Edition."
He said, "Everything else we've done has failed. We've got to face that."
Bush has discussed the "stopgap" proposal to bolster border security with National Guard troops, along with "a lot of [other] ideas," with members of Congress, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told CNN.
Hadley stressed that it "is not a new" idea.
Under the plan, Pentagon sources have said the federal government will foot the bill for activating several thousand additional National Guard troops to augment security along the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
Key Republican skeptical
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, reacted cautiously to the proposal.
"I think we have to be very careful here," Hagel said on ABC's "This Week." "That's not the role of our National Guard."
Hagel, a sponsor of compromise immigration legislation before the Senate, said the U.S. military is already stretched "as thin as we've ever seen it in modern times."
Active-duty U.S. troops are barred from domestic law enforcement by a Reconstruction-era law known as Posse Comitatus, but National Guard troops under state control can perform some law enforcement functions.
Frist restated his confidence that an immigration bill proposal will be completed before Memorial Day, May 29.
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, told ABC, "I think it's more likely than not" that it will be law by the November midterm elections.
Leaders push 'comprehensive' bill
In Sunday's half-hour telephone call, Fox's office said Bush told him "what was being analyzed was the administrative and logistical support by the National Guard, not by the Army, to police the border."
White House spokeswoman Maria Tamburri said Bush told Fox that what his administration is considering "is not a militarization of the border but support of Border Patrol capabilities on a temporary basis by National Guard personnel."
The statement from Fox's office said both leaders agreed that solving the issue of border control is a joint responsibility that can be resolved "only through integral and comprehensive reform."
Bush has stressed that "comprehensive" immigration legislation would include a temporary guest-worker program, and the National Guard proposal could help win over some in his party who favor more enforcement.
CNN's Ed Henry and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
Lawless said this in post #1 :
The president's speech comes as conservative Republicans -- many of whom are running in midterm elections -- support new legislation aimed at increasing punishment for people who enter the United States illegally.The issue also has prompted nationwide protests by hundreds of thousands of immigration supporters over the past weeks.
I think that there SHOULD be tough punishments for coming here illegally. If I snuck into another country, and tried to stay there, illegally, then that country should revoke any rights of ever returning to their country.
I'm not surprised by this. But, WHY should we allow people to come here, illegally, and do nothing? I'm tired of it. You can't just go to any fricken country you want, and take up residence. So, don't do it here.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
[i]The president's speech comes as conservative Republicans -- many of whom are running in midterm elections -- support new legislation aimed at increasing punishment for people who enter the United States illegally. [/B]
Lawless,
I agree with you on the immigration issue, but I think that article distorts what is actually happening. The heart of that distortion is embodied in the above quote. The article makes it seem like the Republicans are mostly for tightening border security and limiting immigration. So the article makes is seem like Republicans are reacting in a predictably conservative manner by sending in the National Guard to control the border. Then the article cites how several non-Republican critics think that using the National Guard, is unwise, too extreme, will militarize the border, will stretch the National Guard too thin, etc., etc.
But the fact is that the Republicans are not at all aligned with the conservative position on immigration. It is just the opposite. The Republicans are the ones who are leading the charge to loosen immigration. I don’t mean the Republican voters. I mean the Republican politicians.
The fact is that if Bush had his way, he would eliminate the border and create one giant free trade zone of labor, where anybody could work anywhere. Why would somebody who doesn’t want a border truly get tough on enforcing the one we have? The fact is that Congress has authorized more border patrol agents than have actually been put in place. It is the Bush administration that has blocked the implementation of these additional agents that Congress has authorized.
So the plan to send the National Guard to the border is a phony ploy to soften the critics of easy immigration by making them think Bush is going to get tough on border enforcement. Many pundits are seeing through this ploy, and are speaking out to reveal it today. I am delighted that they are seeing through it, because I think it will make the plan backfire as it should. I expect Bush’s rating to drop ten points overnight.
With regard to the above quote, the irony is that Republicans who are running in mid terms elections are enraging the very people whom they expect to vote for for them.
Oh, I know what you're talking about... and I never truly believe what I read. It's all a spin... someone's opinion, or point of view. I just hope that we can do something, because we have a HUGE problem.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
Euclid, I totally agree with you that if Bush truly wanted to stop illegal border entry he would hire the border patrols instead of sending in national guard. He even stated that the national guard will not be arresting illegals. I see the reason for using national guard in Iraq and now at the border is to make it appear Bush is for small government. By not hiring federal employees at the border and by not increasing the federal employees in the Army, Navy and Air Force to fight the war as any straight-forward President would do, he uses the national guard who work for the States. He will probably charge the expense to the War on terror as a war appropriations bill instead of as a part of the normal budget so the cost of the guard at the border will not show as deficit spending either.
Well it looks like a lot of people who are against amnesty and want tough immigration laws enforced are impressed with Bush’s plan to put the National Guard on the border. They ought to take a look at what Congress has been up to for the last few days, and realize that they are being duped with this National Guard BS.
What is really amazing is that they are being DUPED BY BUSH, who, according to the polls, hardly anybody trusts.
MESSAGE TO AMERICA:
Bush is using the National Guard to make you think he not giving the country to Mexico, while he gives the country to Mexico.
05-15-2006 05:33 PM
