Pawlenty supports Minnesota Guard troops on Mexican border

By MARK BRUNSWICK, Star Tribune

Last update: June 4, 2010 - 5:38 PM


Gov. Tim Pawlenty has yet to be asked, but he supports stationing Minnesota National Guard troops on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Last week the Senate turned back an effort by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a political mentor to Pawlenty, to put 6,000 more security troops on the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats suggested that President Obama's proposal for the temporary addition of a 1,200-person force was sufficient -- for now.

Obama has proposed a plan to increase funding by $500 million and temporarily send 1,200 National Guard troops to help shore up the Border Patrol's efforts against illegal immigration and Mexican drug cartels.

Republican Pawlenty, who continues to explore a possible 2012 presidential bid, said an earlier effort that put about 200 Minnesota Guard troops on the border proved successful.

Operation Jump Start was a two-year deployment that saw 6,000 Guard troops conducting surveillance at hot spots in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California from 2006 to 2008.

"I would be happy to help and willing to help if asked," Pawlenty said earlier this week. "[Operation Jump Start] was limited but effective. Even before the economy tanked, there was a noticeable, measurable, significant decrease in illegal immigration. It worked and we should do more of that."

Gen. Craig McKinley, the head of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters in Washington, D.C., last month that the bureau is ready to go if asked. Major Gen. Larry Shellito, the head of the Minnesota National Guard, said he is unaware of any talk about including Minnesotans in the mix.

Pawlenty said he believes the more troops the better.

"It's a big border and it's a largely open border. There are some things you can do with technologies and walls and fencing and virtual barriers, but there is a limit to that," he said. "You still need boots on the ground, particularly because that wall doesn't extend that far across that border. So the more the better."

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