Thread: Schwarzenegger wants to keep National Guard at the border

Schwarzenegger wants to keep National Guard at the border
EDWARD SIFUENTES

President should extend stay, replace equipment lost in Iraq deployments, governor says

On the same day that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called on President Bush to extend the assignment of California National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, he criticized the president for not doing more to replace the state’s military equipment drained by multiple deployments to Iraq.

The governor, who initially resisted the National Guard’s assignment to the border, said Monday that their job was not done because not enough U.S. Border Patrol agents have been hired to secure the border.

Some officials have credited the National Guard troops with helping to reduce illegal immigration through the border with Mexico, but the head of the Border Patrol’s union said Monday that the military’s contributions may be overstated.

In 2006, Bush ordered 6,000 troops to the border as part of Operation Jump Start to help with administrative and transportation duties, but not law enforcement work.

Those troops also assist the Border Patrol with surveillance, equipment maintenance and road and border fence construction.

The temporary deployment was supposed to help bolster the Border Patrol’s ranks while the agency hired 6,000 additional agents. But only half that many have been hired, and the Guard’s assignment is set to expire in July.

“We cannot afford to jeopardize the safety and security of our fellow Americans by removing personnel prematurely,â€

The National Guard was left to stand there like Boy Scouts waving in the illegal aliens because Jorge Bush wouldn't allow them to interdict, stop or arrest any illegal aliens, drug smugglers, traffickers, etc. So, basically they put their lives at risk and just had to wave at the invaders as they waded, swam, climbed or simply walked by....nice job, Jorge.

Schwarzenegger to Bush: Leave Guardsmen at the Border

By Krzys Wasilewski


SACRAMENTO, CA. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to keep Californian guardsmen at the border. In a letter issued to President George W. Bush on January 30, the governor wrote that the presence of some 6,000 troops was essential to maintaining border security.

Deployed in 2006, the troops were part of Operation Jump Start that, apart from California, stretched across Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Their job was to patrol the border with Mexico until the states filled the vacancies in Border Patrol agencies. The mission is to expire in July 2008.

Although Gov. Schwarzenegger originally opposed the deployment, citing the high costs of the operation - over $1 billion - he now hopes the guardsmen will protect the border beyond the July deadline.

"I also strongly urge you to extend Operation Jump Start with full federal funding until the mission is complete, so that our shared goal of a strong and secure border can be realized," Gov. Schwarzenegger wrote to President Bush.

The situation at the border with Mexico is alarming. According to the data provided by the Office of the Governor, not even half of the planned 6,000 Border Patrol agents have been employed and trained. The most optimistic scenario assumes that the figures will be replenished by the end of this year. If the current pace continues, however, it may take as long as two more years to fill the gaps.

"[W]e cannot afford to jeopardize the safety and security of our fellow Americans by removing personnel prematurely," said Gov. Schwarzenegger during his meeting with White House officials on Monday, Feb. 25.

The Bush Administration's response was not immediately known. But despite the total budget of $12.3 billion that the White House will spend on border security this year alone, the future of the 6,000 guardsmen patrolling the border with Mexico is endangered. The military missions in Afghanistan and Iraq have overstretched the ranks of the National Guard, and the White House treats the overseas missions as its top priority.

"Any further drawdown of U.S. troops will be based on conditions in Iraq and the recommendations of our commanders," President Bush said in his State of the Union Address.

Eighty California National Guardsmen left for Afghanistan on Sunday, Feb. 24. Along with them, equipment worth millions of dollars and sponsored by the state of California also flew overseas. Some of it was used to patrol the border with Mexico and now local authorities will have to depend on less reliable machines.

"Every time our National Guards leave, they take with them equipment but they don't bring it back. So there's only so long they can do that," Gov. Schwarzenegger told reporters on Monday, Feb. 25.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that some 850,000 illegal immigrants enter the United States each year. Aliens from Mexico represent over 50 percent of this number. California alone hosts around 3 million illegal immigrants who cost the state $10.5 billion annually.

http://newsblaze.com/story/200802290535 ... ories.html

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that some 850,000 illegal immigrants enter the United States each year. Aliens from Mexico represent over 50 percent of this number. California alone hosts around 3 million illegal immigrants who cost the state $10.5 billion annually

Absolutely staggering! Schwarzenegger should be ashamed of himself joing hands with villaregoisa and the other illegal invader represenatives in our state gov.