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€