Ariz. Gov orders troops to border

[Jim Diver]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060308/ap_on_re_us/border_troops_1

PHOENIX - Gov. Janet Napolitano on Wednesday ordered more National Guardsmen posted at the Mexican border to help stop illegal immigrants and curb related crimes.
ADVERTISEMENT

National Guard troops have worked at the border since 1988, but Napolitano signed an order authorizing commanders to station an unspecified number of additional soldiers there to help federal agents.

Once the funding is approved, the troops will monitor crossing points, assist with cargo inspection and operate surveillance cameras, according to the order.

"They are not there to militarize the border," the governor said. "We are not at war with Mexico."

About 170 National Guardsmen are already posted at the nation's busiest illegal entry point, where they assist with communications, fence construction and anti-drug efforts.

Napolitano did not say how many additional troops would be stationed at the border and referred questions to the National Guard, which did not immediately return a call.

Napolitano has asked the military to pay for her plan, but said she would commit state dollars if necessary.

The governor declared an immigration emergency last summer in Arizona's four border counties, citing security shortcomings by the federal government.

 

[StopTheGrays]

She is running for re-election this year too. Coincidence? Maybe, but better late than never...

 

[armoredman]

Remember, this is the same gov who ordered the NG fuel tankers to relieve the fuel shortage in Phoenix, during the borken pipeline fiasco, only to be told in her press conferance the trucks were all in Iraq...

 

[fourays2]

he's just posturing, and believe me his hard left base is fuming about this.

 

[XLMiguel]

Um, the Governor of AZ is a woman - Janet Napolitano.

Though she'z a Dem, she ain't all that bad compared to what you could have -

As I understand it, Phoenix is now the 5th largest city in the US, with all the silliness that comes with, youse guys are going to have to fight all the socialistic crap that comes with urban sprall and the nannyism and entitlement mentality that goes with.

My mom lives in SCW and I feel your pain.

 

[longeyes]

Another attempt to politically outflank the GOP and claim the illegal alien issue for '06/'08. It's empty posturing so far as I'm concerned but may be politically impactful. Bush is handing the Dems this one. With Portgate this could be a one-two knockout punch for his Presidency.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Yep, put more guards at the checkpoints and areas of entry. Problem is, they are needed in the areas where the majority of illegals come in. The friggin desert between the port of entry's:banghead:

Read all about it;

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/119161.php

Governor set to veto bill to increase Guard border presence
Seeks new legislation without 'unconstitutional directive'
By Howard Fischer
Capitol media services
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.08.2006

PHOENIX - Gov. Janet Napolitano is deploying more National Guard troops along the border today even as she vetoes a bill to force her to do it.
Her order, announced this morning, comes less thasn 24 hours after the Senate voted to direct the governor to expand the presence of the Guard in Southern Arizona and gave her $10 million to do it. Napolitano said she intends to veto that bill when it gets to her desk later today, calling the mandate an unconstitutional infringement on her power as commander-in-chief of the Guard.
But the governor's order is contingent on lawmakers recrafting that legislation to give her the money - but without what she said is the unconstitutional directive. That move puts the political hot potato back in the hands of the Republican-controlled Legislature: If they don't approve the bill the way she wants it, there's no money - and she can blame them for failure to deploy the troops.
But Rep. John Allen, R-Scottsdale, who crafted the measure, said he does not believe it is unconstitutional.
Napolitano insisted this morning she was not pressured into action by the Legislature and that she had always intended to expand the presence of the Guard in Southern Arizona.
"I've been saying since State of the State (speech) we're sending the Guard down there,'' she said.
But that isn't exactly true: In her January speech, the governor said only that she was asking Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to use a provision of federal law "which allows the federal government to pay for us to station the National Guard at our border.'' She said those federal funds "would allow the Guard to expand its presence and become even more involved in enforcing the rule of law at the border.''
"I'm not playing semantics with you,'' she shot back Wednesday when pressed about the differences.
So why did she wait until now - with the Legislature sending her a mandate to put the Guard on the border - to issue her order, as opposed to doing it months ago?
"I was waiting to see if Secretary Rumsfeld would fund the Guard,'' she responded. Napolitano said she had not had a chance to meet with him until she was in Washington last week.
There are fewer than 200 Guard troops along the border now, doing what Napolitano has described as "support'' functions.
She said while troop levels will change, the mission will not.
"They are not there to militarize the border,'' she said. "We are not at war with Mexico.''
Napolitano said she wants troops doing things like helping to staff border checkpoints and conducting cargo, vehicle and electronic identification checks, assisting local law enforcement and working with the Department of Public Safety in their campaign to keep stolen vehicles from entering Mexico. The governor's decision comes in what promises to be a tough reelection year for her, with Republican foes saying she has been slow to protect the state from illegal immigration.
In approving the mandate Tuesday, Sen. Dean Martin, R-Phoenix, chided Napolitano for saying in her January speech she would expand the role of the Guard on the border -- with federal dollars.
"If she's going to ask for troops on the border and she wants the money to pay for it, the Legislature is the right body to appropriate those monies and give her the authority,'' Martin said.
"But you can't play it both ways,'' he continued. "You can't pretend to want it one day and then say you don't the next.''
Napolitano, in turn, accused Allen of being the one who is playing games. She said Allen was shown a copy of the draft executive order Tuesday night but still refused to back off the wording that would require her to use Guard troops.
"I told her to her face I didn't trust her,'' said Allen. He said the governor has had credibility issues since she went back on a budget deal at the end of the 2005 legislative session.

 

[Standing Wolf]

About 170 National Guardsmen are already posted at the nation's busiest illegal entry point, where they assist with communications, fence construction and anti-drug efforts.

Let me see whether I've got this straight, eh/ 170 National Guardsmen versus 20,000,000 illegal aliens. Is this when I'm supposed to be impressed?

 

[RealGun]

Ariz. Gov orders troops to border

To do what? They don't have the orders to shoot anyone, unless perhaps shot at first.

 

[longeyes]

"They are not there to militarize the border," the governor said. "We are not at war with Mexico."

We're not? I've got news for her.

But no matter: the National Guard will have empty rifles.

 

[Biker]

It's all just candles on a cowpie - sure as hell ain't no birthday cake.
Biker

 

[chopinbloc]

"They are not there to militarize the border," the governor said. "We are not at war with Mexico."

the hell we aren't! she just hasn't figured it out yet. when a sovereign nation is invaded by armed government agents from another sovereing nation, when its government agents are shot and killed by invaders from across the border, i'd say that be a shootin' war.

i am an az national guardsman. i go back home very shortly so let me pose a question to you: assuming that there are enough slots for me to volunteer for duty on the border, do you think that i would better serve my community, state and nation by volunteering for work on the border in an official capacity or by volunteering to help out with the minutemen, az ranch rescue or other similar organizations? second question: i take my oath very seriously; especially the bit about protecting the constitution. with that in mind, do you think that my participation in law enforcement duties such as aiding the DPS in stopping stolen cars would be constitutional?

i hope this isn't considered thread hijacking, but if it's too far off topic, i appologize.

 

[TexasRifleman]

do you think that i would better serve my community, state and nation by volunteering for work on the border

Would you feel safe working the border without ammo?

This thing is just decoration. You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig when you kiss it.

 

[HankB]

Yep, put more guards at the checkpoints and areas of entry. Problem is, they are needed in the areas where the majority of illegals come in. The friggin desert between the port of entry's

+1

But no matter: the National Guard will have empty rifles.

Not necessarily. According to a buddy of mine who was called up in the days of "urban unrest" it was SOP for NG to - quietly - bring their own ammo.

I would.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

According to a buddy of mine who was called up in the days of "urban unrest" it was SOP for NG to - quietly - bring their own ammo.

I bet the government would hang them out to dry if they ever used it, too.

 

[Waitone]

I look forward to more and more political moves to separate one's self from Bush. A lot of people face the voters in November and spinelessrepublicans in particular don't want to be anywhere near him come November. Yeah, the governor of NM is Democrat but she is smart enough to know where the pressure points exist. I can't wait for the debate on illegal border crossing to get started. It'll be republican v republican, republican v Democrat, ruled v ruler, business v taxpayer, nativist v globalist, government v taxpayer, bootlikking media v Democrat house organ, ad nauseum. This thing will hopefully turn into the mother of all saloon fights.

 

[Lennyjoe]

This woman has me totally baffled on what she wants to do with the National Guard and the border.

Read this;

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ZOL-?SITE=AZTUS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Mar 9, 9:27 PM EST

Governor vetoes bill to pay for sending troops to the border

By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press Writer

PHOENIX (AP) -- Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed legislation Thursday that provided $10 million for her plan to send National Guard troops to the Arizona-Mexico border to help federal authorities confront illegal immigration.

Her rejection of the bill came a day after the governor signed an order that expanded the National Guard's presence at the porous border yet had held off on increasing the number of troops there until funding is set aside.

Napolitano objected to the bill's requirement that she send troops to the border, a mandate that she said was an unconstitutional infringement of her powers to command the National Guard.

"The Legislature has no constitutional or other authority to control when or how the Guard is deployed," Napolitano wrote in a letter to lawmakers, promising to sign a similar bill if it contained funding but left out the deployment requirement.

Some Republican lawmakers said the Democratic governor isn't serious about confronting illegal immigration and is trying to back out of her plan.

The National Guard has assisted in anti-drug and other law enforcement efforts at the Arizona border since 1988. The governor wants to add more troops at the border to perform support duties in an effort to give federal agents more time to catch people crossing illegally into Arizona, the nation's busiest illegal entry point.

Public pressure is mounting for state politicians who face re-election races this year to confront illegal immigration, even though immigration has long been considered the sole province of the federal government. A recent poll shows a strong majority of voters approve of sending troops to the border.

Proponents say the National Guard's assistance in immigration efforts could help reduce border-related crime and make it more difficult for the tens of thousands of people who try to cross into Arizona illegally each year.

Critics say the National Guard's lack of training in immigration law could lead to racial profiling and that stationing troops at the border could hurt the morale of those who may have already served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Republican Rep. John Allen of Scottsdale, sponsor of the vetoed bill, said he wouldn't leave out the proposed mandate if he seeks a similar bill again.

"We are going to do our very best to get troops on the border and force the governor's hand to do so, but I don't think she has any real expectation of doing it," Allen said.

The state House gave preliminary approval Thursday to another proposal that would provide an unspecified amount of money for Napolitano's plan but wouldn't require her to send troops to the border.

Republican Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, sponsor of the other proposal, said the lack of a dollar figure was the result of an unintentional omission, but that he hopes his bill will be changed to put $10 million toward the project.

Jennifer Allen, director of the Border Action Network, an immigrant rights group that opposes Napolitano's plan, said border troops won't stop immigrants from crossing into the state illegally.

"I think it's an enormous mistake," Allen said of the plan.

Arizona already has about 170 National Guard troops at the border assisting federal and state officers with communications, fence construction and anti-drug efforts.

The costs of the governor's plan and the number of troops to be stationed at the border have never been specified. Napolitano also has asked the military to pay for her proposal.

 

[chopinbloc]

Would you feel safe working the border without ammo?

no. and that's why i wouldn't. when i worked the fires i chickened out from bringing my concealed carry piece. thankfully there was no need for it but some people got pretty angry and things could easily have gone differently. if i were to go to the border, i would conceal my glock and bring along a few loaded m16 mags if they were planning to issue a rifle. heck, i'll even load 'em with lake city m855, not that that would make any difference.

 

[fantacmet]

TWO WORDS

RANCH RESCUE

Do a search, and if you can, join.

Rev. Michael