Missouri National Guard Takes Up Border Security

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Missouri National Guard Takes Up Border Security
Soldiers Help Maintain Barriers

POSTED: 2:37 pm CST February 6, 2007
UPDATED: 10:38 pm CST February 6, 2007

YUMA, Ariz. -- The illegal immigrants crossing into the United States from Mexico are not just Mexicans. Border officials have found people from Syria, Iraq and China, KMBC's Martin Augustine reported.

By some accounts, about 3 million people illegally poured into Arizona from Mexico in 2005. So when President George W. Bush ordered National Guard soldiers to the border last May, nobody was sure what kind of good it would do.

Missouri National Guard soldiers are part of the call-up, helping keep a constant watch on the border, repairing protective fences near it, and building barriers right on top of it.

All of the soldiers are on a mission to protect the border and security of the United States.

Nighttime on the desert shrouds a group of people and trucks on a hilltop.

"Well, that's no barbecue," border patrol agent Chris Van Wagenen said. "We got a heads-up that there were three or four vehicles down there and probably about 30 people."

Van Wagenen said he has seen this all before.

"They're not afraid to let us know they're coming in because they still think they can beat us," Van Wagenen said.

Augustine reported that a few months ago, illegal immigrants probably would have found a way in, but now they often find their way back through a border patrol processing station.

Far fewer illegal immigrants are being caught, which agents see as a good thing. Augustine reported that the credit is due in part to the National Guard.

In December 2005, border patrol agents were catching 300 people per day in the Arizona desert. By December 2006, about six months after the National guard showed up, that number was down to about 100 a day, Augustine reported.

Missouri National Guard soldiers are helping make an impact by keeping their eyes on the border. Their rifles and body armor are secondary to the mission.

"Our best weapons and tools would be our eyes and ears. The way we observe and report. Anything else is designed for our self-defense, if necessary," Sgt. Robert Tabers said.

When the National Guard does spot people sneaking across the border, they radio a message and border agents roll in. Quite simply, soldiers provide hundreds of extra eyes and ears on the desert.

Soldiers are also building steel-pipe barriers on the border.

"All these guys out here working are a great bunch of guys. It's camaraderie. A group of guys get together and you just build that bond by working with them," Sgt. Bob Hardwick said.

Augustine reported that the barriers won't stop people from coming through, but they will stop smugglers from driving off the nearby highway in their trucks packed with illegal immigrants.

Before the Missouri National Guard took on the barrier construction job, border agents did it. Those agents repaired holes in border fences, too. So the National Guard presence immediately freed up hundreds of agents, allowing them to patrol the border, Augustine reported.