Border troops only awaiting Obama’s OK
By RICHARD S. DUNHAM and STEWART M. POWELL
WASHINGTON BUREAU
May 19, 2009, 6:17PM

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security are finalizing plans to station National Guard troops along the Mexican border, most likely as backup support to local law enforcement personnel in Texas and other border states.

Four border-state governors, including Texas’ Rick Perry, have provided input, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters Tuesday.

The final decision on whether to implement the plans is in the hands of White House officials, she said.

Napolitano said that the White House decision-making process “is not by any stretch finalâ€