Thread: Border governors push for National Guard

Border governors push for National Guard

(photo) New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer talk Wednesday afternoon at Bisbee-Douglas International Airport after their helicopter tour of the southern Arizona border. (MARK LEVY/Wick Communications)

By Derek Jordan/wick communications
Published: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 11:51 AM CDT

DOUGLAS - Joined by her New Mexico counterpart, Gov. Jan Brewer again called on the federal government to assist border states with mounting drug smuggling and illegal immigration issues by providing additional National Guard troops for the Mexican border.

"The federal government has a responsibility to secure our borders," Brewer said Wednesday.

She spoke alongside New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson at Bisbee-Douglas International Airport after the two took an aerial tour of the border led by the Arizona National Guard.

"Given the murder that just recently took place out here, I think it's incumbent on the federal government to respond," she said.

Brewer spoke of the March 28 shooting death of Douglas-area rancher Robert Krentz. A trail of footprints led investigators 20 miles south to Mexico.

"The people of America, the people of Arizona and the people of New Mexico do not want to live in this environment," she said.

Their tour took the two state leaders from the airport to the Krentz family ranch northeast of Douglas, then along the Mexican border from New Mexico to the edge of Cochise County. There, Brewer said, they witnessed the "decimation" of the area, caused by smuggling and illegal immigration activity.

"You would think it was a county dump," the governor said of the amount of waste and garbage they saw at various locations along the border.

"We also observed our Border Patrol apprehending illegals that had already crossed the border," she said. "We actually saw firsthand exactly what takes place here 24 hours a day."

When asked if she would consider sending National Guard troops to the border without federal support, as Richardson did March 31 in his state, Brewer said she was "prepared to do that," but the cost to the state would be such that it would not be sustainable.

"It would not serve us very well if we put the National Guard down there for one week or two weeks and not be able to sustain them," she said. "We need a permanent solution."

If Brewer's request to the federal government for more National Guard troops along the border is accepted, that means the feds would foot the bill, said 1st Lt. Valentine Castillo, public affairs officer for the Arizona National Guard.

There are currently about 140 Arizona National Guard troops assigned to support U.S. Border Patrol with surveillance, analysis and drug education efforts, Castillo said.

Arizona has approximately 8,000 Army and Air National Guard members, he said.

Brewer has asked for 250 National Guard troops to be sent to patrol the Arizona-Mexico border, she said.

Along with additional federal support, Richardson said solid communication between Arizona- and New Mexico-based efforts to curb smuggling and illegal immigration is key to solving the issue.

"The New Mexico National Guard and the Arizona National Guard have been working very closely together," he said.

Richardson went on to say that the issues faced by border states go beyond political parties.

"This is a bipartisan issue," he said. "It's the same issue, administration after administration. We need protection at the border. We need more Border Patrol, the National Guard on a permanent presence. We need our local law enforcement strengthened, our sheriffs."

Brewer said she had spoken with Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever and that the two will remain in contact "to see just exactly how we can help him" with the issues being faced by the county.

Dever was unavailable for comment Wednesday evening.

The two governors said they plan to contact fellow Govs. Arnold Schwarzeneggar of California and Rick Perry of Texas and, in solidarity, continue to call for support for the border states.

"We are going to do the best that we can as quickly as we can," Brewer said.

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Stop squabbling and get help to the border now

Published: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 11:54 AM CDT

While the citizens of New Mexico can feel slightly safer on the border since Gov. Bill Richardson deployed the National Guard, Cochise County is still waiting.

Richardson ordered the Guard to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border five days after Arizona rancher Rob Krentz was shot to death on his ranch. He also beefed up law enforcement in the area. "I want residents in Southern New Mexico to know we are taking this border violence very seriously by adding a National Guard presence along with state, local and federal law enforcement patrols along the border," Richardson said in a statement.

His action is what the Krentz family has asked for in response to the death of a beloved family member. In a statement, the family said:

On March 27, our husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle was murdered in cold blood by a suspected illegal alien on the ranch.


Northridge Residents: Work at Home EXPOSEDUnemployed Mom Makes $6,397/Month Working Online! Read How She Did It. Get details... Acai Berry EXPOSED: NorthridgeNorthridge Warning: Health Reporter Discovers The Shocking Truth! Get details... This senseless act took the life of a man, a humanitarian, who bore no ill will towards anyone.

Rob loved his family, instilling in them the importance of honesty, fair dealing and skill managing all aspects of a large 100-year-old ranching operation producing food to make our country strong and healthy.

He was known for his concern and kindness helping neighbors, friends and even trespassers on his ranch with compassionate assistance in their time of need.

We hold no malice towards the Mexican people for this senseless act but do hold the political forces in this country and Mexico accountable for what has happened. Their disregard of our repeated pleas and warnings of impending violence towards our community fell on deaf ears shrouded in political correctness.

As a result, we have paid the ultimate price for their negligence in credibly securing our borderlands.

In honor of everything Rob stood for, we ask everyone to work peacefully towards bringing credible law and order to our border and provide Border Patrol and county law enforcement with sufficient financial resources and manpower to stop this invasion of our country.

We urge the President of the United States to step forward and immediately order deployment of the active U.S. military to the Arizona, New Mexico border.

Thank you for all for honoring Rob. We want the truth known.

In Arizona, however, Gov. Jan Brewer has yet to take action. On her Facebook page, Brewer said, "I call for immediate action by the federal government to increase public safety at Arizona's border through the addition of National Guard soldiers and airmen. I made my initial request for additional troops to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on March 11, 2009, followed by a joint letter from four border governors to congressional leaders on April 22, 2009. Since then, federal officials have neither denied the request, nor fulfilled it."

The problem is money. If the federal government mobilizes the Guard, they pay. If Brewer does it, we pay.

We would like to point out that Southern Arizona in general and the Krentz family specifically is already paying.

We agree the feds should act. But if they don't, let's just get it done.

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