Patterico's Pontifications

5/25/2010

More Boots on the Border

Filed under: Immigration,Obama — DRJ @ 2:58 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

President Obama will reportedly order more boots and bucks for the border:

“President Barack Obama will send 1,200 National Guard troops to boost security along the U.S.-Mexico border, officials said Tuesday, pre-empting Republican plans to try to force votes on such a deployment.

Obama will also request $500 million for border protection and law enforcement activities, according to lawmakers and administration officials. The moves come as chances for action on comprehensive immigration reform, Obama’s long-stated goal, look increasingly small in this election year. But Obama is under pressure to do something with the issue front and center after Arizona’s passage of a tough crackdown law.

The National Guard troops will work on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support, analysis and training, and support efforts to block drug trafficking. They will temporarily supplement border patrol agents until Customs and Border Protection can recruit and train additional officers and agents to serve on the border, an administration official said.”

Will this include drones, too?

By the way, President Bush ordered National Guard troops to assist on the border in 2006 but Senator Biden objected:

“Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said there may be a need for troops to fill in while the Border Patrol is bolstered. But he did not seem confident that the National Guard could take on the extra duty.

“We have stretched these men and women so thin, so thin, because of the bad mistakes done by the civilians in the military here, that I wonder how they’re going to be able to do it,” Biden said, also on ABC.”

Prior reports suggest the Pentagon is concerned about the deployment of troops on the border. Perhaps the cost and deployment issues have been resolved since 2006.

— DRJ

18 Responses to “More Boots on the Border”

  1. Wow. This is really happening. Hate to get my hopes up, but the snippet below is a snippet from a piece from Politico:

    Inside the lunch meeting, Obama squared off with his old rival McCain (R-Ariz.) over border security, sources said. Sources described Obama’s conversation with McCain as rather direct. McCain said he told Obama: “We need to secure the borders first. He didn’t agree.”

    Interesting to finally see a difference in Repub/Dem approach to this issue.

    TimesDisliker (f3d092)

  2. Greetings:

    So, the math would be something like one Guardsman per mile and one half??? Hmmm.

    11B40 (7add9f)

  3. It wasn’t too long ago that McCain didn’t think we needed to secure the border FIRST. My, how the maverick has changed

    bald01 (35bc9b)

  4. Important question: will the troops be armed? If not, what happens when unarmed Guardsmen meet armed drug smugglers?

    (Regarding the first question, my guess would be: “No”.)

    navyvet (206534)

  5. speaking of border states stalwart and true DRJ did you see this today?

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday barred Texas from issuing an operating permit to a refinery in Corpus Christi, and said it would do the same in dozens of other cases in which it believes the state is violating the Clean Air Act.

    he federal agency said its decision was unprecedented, because it removes from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality a power traditionally granted to state regulators.*

    That is so not America DRJ and if it is America I piss on its head.

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  6. *The* federal agency is what that is opposed to day

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  7. “Addressing McCain and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Obama said his administration has done more to secure the border than others have.”

    Oh rilly? What country’s borders is he talking about? Honduras?

    daleyrocks (1d0d98)

  8. Band aids for Borders:

    Obama’s PR campaign is nothing but a half-baked dog and pony show designed to give him a little wiggle room after Arizona bitch-slapped him around like Michelle on steroids.

    Only 1200 men and 500 Million dollars, that just doesn’t have the ring of truth about it. Something doesn’t add up. There are too few men and too much money. Before the GOP signs onto this delusional nostrum, they better read the fine print. This looks suspiciously like the Stimulus Bill hype to me.

    ropelight (4234c9)

  9. “…the Pentagon is concerned about the deployment of troops on the border…”

    With about half of the $500M, they could call up the un-organized militia to back-stop the BP, and get a whole lot more than 1200 pairs of boots…
    There are a lot of guys, and gals, who have the time on their hands, and they wouldn’t even have to provide weaponry – just ammo, food, field-equipment, support.

    AD - RtR/OS! (bd3d6c)

  10. happyfeet,

    I had not seen that. Thank you for linking it. Any bets on how quickly Texas sues?

    DRJ (d43dcd)

  11. Any bets on how quickly Texas sues?

    Seccession would be faster.

    AD - RtR/OS! (bd3d6c)

  12. I was in the car around Noon today. Walter E. Williams was substituting for Rush Limbaugh and, at one point, he said he thought Texans were less likely to support secession now than in the past (e.g., in the 1970s). I’m curious why he thought that. It’s not my impression.

    DRJ (d43dcd)

  13. Who can explain what goes on in the minds of ivory-tower cloistered academics (Heh).

    AD - RtR/OS! (bd3d6c)

  14. “Will this include drones, too?”

    Dunno how many White House folk will be there …

    Alasdair (4bb42a)

  15. Wonder if Calderon got to weigh in?

    em (017d3c)

  16. only the border patrol agents can detain and deport and they are so undermanned that they just take the drugs if it is less than 50 pounds and send them back to mexico without charges.the troops will be little more than uniformed scarecrows.

    clyde (76ebab)

  17. Wait, how are the National Guard troops going to avoid racial profiling? Did Obama explain that? Isn’t that like his number one concern? What’s up with this?

    daleyrocks (1d0d98)

  18. It’s a token effort.

    [And I denounce myself for any unintended reading of a pun into the above statement.]

    Icy Texan (380c78)


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