Border states commit 54,000 troops to Iraq, Afghanistan…get 1,200 from feds
July 19, 4:26 PM

Immigration Reform Examiner Dave Gibson


US troops on patrol in Afghanistan
AP

During a Monday morning Pentagon news conference, Gen. Craig McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau told reporters that National Guard troops will begin a yearlong deployment on August 1, along the 2,000 mile-long U.S./Mexican border.

While the 1,200 troops will reportedly be armed, they may only use their weapons for self-defense.

The troops will be distributed along the border as follows:

-Arizona…524

-Texas…250

-California…224

-New Mexico…72

With another 130 troops assigned to something called a “national liaison office.â€