| From the Associated Press: President Barack Obama will deploy 1,200 National Guard troops to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border, according to an administration official and an Arizona congresswoman. Obama will also request $500 million for border protection and law enforcement activities, they said. The National Guard troops will work on intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, intelligence and blocking drug trafficking.
Despite Rick Perry's ridiculous claims to the contrary, President Obama has actually been much stronger about border enforcement than his (and Perry's) predecessor, President George W. Bush. From a recent TIME magazine story, "Why GOP Senators Won't Play on Immigration Reform" we learn the following: The Obama Administration has exceeded Bush Administration efforts on border control. Last year saw the highest number of people ever deported: 387,790, up from 116,782 in 2001 and 349,041 in 2008. Thus far this year, some 185,887 people have been deported, a record pace that, if maintained, will nearly double the number of deportations in 2010 to 604,133. The Administration has also doubled the number of agents assigned to the Border Enforcement Security Task Force and tripled intelligence analysts along the Southwest border.
I'll follow up on this later today or tomorrow, once we learn what portion of the new efforts are coming to Texas... 4:39pm UPDATE: Bill White had the following to say to Public Media Texas: “We need more federal support for border security and border regions. We need more support for local police and sheriffs, who can enforce criminal laws. National Guard troops are not a long-term substitute for sustained federal commitment to border communities” — TX Gov. candidate Bill White (D) said in a statement to PMT
|
