National Guard Troops heading To Arizona

 As Arizona counts down the days until its controversial immigration bill goes into effect, the federal government announced on Monday that National Guard troops and other reinforcements are scheduled to arrive in the state beginning Aug. 1 to help battle the movement of illegal immigrants and drugs across the border.

In addition to the roughly 524 National Guard troops that the administration has previously promised to send to the Arizona-Mexico border, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced on Monday that hundreds of additional Border Patrol agents and customs officers will also be sent to the area.

"We are also reassigning major technology assets, including mobile surveillance systems, thermal-imaging binocular units, and trucks equipped with detection scopes, as well as observation and utility aircraft," Napolitano said in a guest column in the Arizona Republic.

Up to 1200 Guard troops will be deployed to the Southwest in total, and the troops will train and be fully deployed by September, reports The Associated Press. They are slated to be stationed on the border for a year, and will be working in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.

The Republic also spoke to a government official, interviewed on condition of anonymity, who said Napolitano will be sending over 300 Border Patrol agents and port inspectors to the Tucson Sector, while also shifting 100 existing ICE personnel to be on duty across Arizona state.

The Obama administration has publicly decried Arizona's new law, scheduled to start being enforced July 20, and the Justice Department is suing to block the bill on the grounds that it attempts to usurp the power of the federal government.

Instead, President Obama has outlined an approach to immigration reform that would include a process to allow illegal immigrants to gain residency by paying back taxes and passing background checks, among other stipulations.

In her column for the Republic, Napolitano reiterated that security along the U.S.-Mexico border has improved in recent years. "Despite what those looking to score political points may tell you, the numbers show we are moving in the right direction," she wrote. "Last year, illegal crossings along the Southwest border were down 23 percent...And, by all measurable standards, crime levels in U.S. border towns have remained flat for most of the last decade."

Yet recent polls show that most Americans support even tougher laws against illegal immigration. A Gallup poll this month found that a majority of Americans responded badly to the Justice Department's lawsuit against the Arizona bill, with 50 percent of respondents reporting a negative initial reaction, while only 33 percent reacted positively.

"This means the Obama administration is sailing against the tide of public opinion in its efforts to block the law," Gallup reported.    Source: DailyNews





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Obama Plans Immigration Speech This Thursday

President Obama will give a speech on immigration on Thursday, but it is unlikely to include any new policy initiatives and will not be preceded by an announcement on a Justice Department lawsuit in Arizona, officials said.
The appearance will take place at American University's School of International Service at 10:45 a.m. Thursday, the White House said.

Officials in Arizona and Texas are clamoring for more National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying that their share of a planned new deployment won't be enough to make a dent in illegal immigration.

After a meeting Monday with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, officials with the Obama administration announced that Arizona would receive a sizable share of the 1,200 planned new troops, 524. That is more than double the number allocated to any of the other three border states, even though Arizona abuts only about 19% of the U.S.-Mexican border.

By comparison, Texas is set to receive 250 guard troops, even though it has 60% of the 2,000-mile border. California will receive 224 and New Mexico 72, the administration announced. The remaining troops would report to a national liaison office.

Texas and Arizona, both led by Republican governors, immediately complained about their allocations. "Obviously, that is not sufficient to secure the border," said Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry. "We're going to continue to urge the federal government to provide the resources we need."

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer expressed similar concern and said that the 524 troops were not what she had hoped she would receive.

Tensions have already been high between Ms. Brewer and the Obama administration after the governor signed a law requiring police who are enforcing other laws to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. The Obama administration has threatened to sue Arizona over the law.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs responded to complaints from the governors by saying the administration's effort to secure the border has been extraordinary. "The president has made a big commitment to securing the border," he said Tuesday. President Obama is expected to make a speech on immigration laws Thursday.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, struck more conciliatory tones. Mr. Schwarzenegger, in a statement, applauded President Obama for sending the additional troops. However, he too said he would "continue to urge the federal government to provide more National Guard personnel for our border.

" Mr. Richardson's office called the Obama administration announcement a good first step.
Texas and Arizona say that crime is high along their borders and there is an imminent need for amped-up security.

The sector of the border that includes Tucson, Ariz., had more arrests of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border than any other sector, with 241,000 in 2009, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The next closest was the San Diego sector with 119,000 arrests.
Still, the arrests in the Tucson sector in 2009 were down 36% from 2007.

Federal legislation sponsored by Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, would bring 6,000 National Guard troops to the four border states. Arizona has requested 3,000 of those.

"Those numbers are more in line with what is usually estimated as needed to secure the border," said Fred Burton, a former special agent with the state department and a vice president of intelligence at Stratfor, a global intelligence company.     Source-Wall St Journal

Obama Administration Announces New Border Security Measures

The Obama Administration announced Wednesday that it will station an aerial drone in Texas as part of its stepped-up surveillance of criminal trafficking along the Mexican border.



Federal authorities also have signed an agreement to allow local police from non-border communities to temporarily "deploy" to the border region to assist with security, said Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

"Our Southwest border states have endured more than their share of challenges," said Napolitano, a former Arizona governor. "I share the frustration border communities feel."

In a speech at a Washington think tank, Napolitano laid out the case that the "border is as secure now as it has ever been."  She also said that some "are looking to score political points" by depicting the border as far more dangerous than it really is. "The numbers tell the story, and they do not lie," she said. Even as killings have increased in Mexico, violent crime is down along the U.S. side of the border, she said.

At the same time, seizures of illegal weapons, drugs and cash have risen. Nevertheless, Napolitano acknowledged that more can be done. 

On Tuesday, President Obama asked Congress for $500 million in emergency border security, including two more aerial drones and 1,000 more Border Patrol officers to join 1,200 National Guard troops heading to the region.

Many of the steps Napolitano outlined have long been advocated by Texas Republicans -- and created a side dispute over Obama's choice for the No. 2 position at the Federal Aviation Administration. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) had pressed for months for a pilotless drone, and when it was slow in coming,

Cornyn blocked Senate confirmation of Michael Huerta to be deputy director of the FAA. On Wednesday, after learning that the agency had given its approval for the unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, to operate in Texas, Cornyn said he would allow a vote on Huerta. "While the approval process should not have taken this long, I'm pleased to see the FAA moving forward," he said.

"The FAA needs to implement a system that will reflect the great importance of border security as well as the growing significance of UAVs in homeland security and national defense."

Unmanned aircraft are used routinely in Iraq and Afghanistan and also patrol much of the Arizona border, using sensors to pinpoint trafficking activity. The vehicle being stationed in Texas has the ability to fly for 20 hours. It will arrive at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi this summer.

Later this month, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who recently signed into law tough new state controls on immigration, will meet with administration officials for the second time. 
  Via Washington Post


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Ariz. governor takes on immigration law controversy, boycotts and Mexican president's comments

Ariz. governor takes on immigration law controversy
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Fear and Anger On The US-Mexico Border

Arizona is at the center of the US debate over immigration after introducing a tough new law targeting illegal entrants to the country. The BBC's Robin Lustig traveled to the state's border with Mexico, and met those on the frontline of the issue.

If you look through the bars of the steel fence in Nogales,Southern Arizona, you find yourself looking at Nogales, Mexico.
The fence marks the international border between the US and Mexico - and it runs right through the town.
Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans cross this border illegally every year, and an increasing number of Americans want to stop them.


Dealing with illegal immigrants is what Border Patrol Agent Richard Funke does every day.As he drove me along the high steel border fence, he told me: "You see people watching that fence every hour of every day. Someone tries to get across every day of the year."
And sure enough, within minutes, we had spotted a young Mexican darting through a hole in the fence. But other agents had spotted him too; and he was soon back in Mexico again.
Footprints Out in the desert, Agent Funke suddenly pulled over to show me a trail leading from the road towards the border. "Look at those footprints," he said. "They're no more than a few hours old … someone was here earlier this morning, probably dropping off a consignment of drugs from across the border."
Thirty miles north of the border, I met Pat King, round-faced and friendly, at home on the ranch that she runs with her husband John. With her grand-daughters scampering about as the sun set below the hills and the shadows lengthened, she told me why she wants illegal immigrants stopped.
"They come across the ranch, right up by the house. Our fences are damaged, our gates are left open, the cattle stray.
"We see so much drug-smuggling, the Mexican cartels are getting much stronger. If the men go out and stumble across a group of smugglers, they're convinced they're going to end up with a bullet in the back."
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2000 Mile Drive To Support AZ. Law

Obama & Jan Brewer Meeting About Arizona Immigration Law In The White House

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) said Thursday that President Obama assured her that he would send White House staff members to her state to talk with officials about efforts to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
The governor said her meeting with Obama in the Oval Office was cordial, despite their disagreement over the widely criticized state law she signed in April, which gave police greater powers to enforce federal immigration laws.
She said Obama declined to discuss whether the Justice Department plans to file a lawsuit to block the law before it takes effect next month.
The White House said in a statement that the meeting went well but that Obama reiterated his concerns about the law, including that a patchwork of state immigration regulations would complicate the federal government's role in setting and enforcing immigration policy. The White House said Obama would like Brewer to work with him to help pass comprehensive changes to the immigration system that would provide a path to citizenship for those already in the country illegally.

Emerging from the half-hour session, Brewer said Obama had assured her that the majority of the 1,200 National Guard troops he is sending to the U.S.-Mexico border would be going to her state.


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Brewer to Meet Obama

Jan Brewer is going to get her face-to-face meeting with President Obama. The White House confirmed late Tuesday that the president intends to make some time on Thursday to sit down with the Arizona governor to hear her concerns about border security.

 Brewer made clear Tuesday she's not worried about a potential legal challenge from the Obama administration over her state's controversial immigration law.

"We'll meet you in court," Brewer told CNN' when asked how she would respond if President Barack Obama's Department of Justice decided to challenge the law. "I have a pretty good record of winning in court."

The American Civil Liberties Union is currently leading a court challenge. Attorney General Eric Holder, who met with a delegation of police chiefs from Arizona and elsewhere this week to discuss the law, has yet to indicate whether the federal government would file a legal challenge.
Obama, who has called the law "misguided," will meet with Brewer at the White House on Thursday, a White House official told CNN. It will be the first one-on-one meeting between the two since Brewer approved the law in April.

Brewer is in Washington this week to talk with other governors who, like her, are members of a special council of governors the president appointed to provide him with advice on issues of homeland security. The trip is to prepare for a July meeting of the actual council.

 

The governor said last week she sought the meeting with Obama because she believes that Napolitano does not understand how serious are the problems with border security.

"I think that he owes it to the people of Arizona if not to the people of the United States to sit down and have a conversation with him in regards to what is needed at our border. We need to secure them,'' Brewer said.

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Obama to send more troops to Southwest border

President Obama will deploy up to 1,200 more National Guard troops to the U.S. border with Mexico, an administration official said Tuesday.
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Arizona Sing A Long

Governor Jan Brewer's posted a video on her Facebook page mocking lawmakers who have criticized Arizona's controversial, new immigration law but haven't actually read it -- namely U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano. The video features a Kermit the Frog impostor in a Sesame Street-esque sing-a-long reminding lawmakers -- or "kids" as they're referred in the video -- how "super swell" reading is.

Palin to Obama " Do Your Job "

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin defended Arizona's new immigration law Saturday and announced the launch of a website to inform Americans about border security.

As calls spread for an economic boycott of Arizona, the state's governor enlisted the help of former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Saturday to defend a new law cracking down on illegal immigration.
Gov. Jan Brewer and Ms. Palin blamed U.S. President Barack Obama for the state law, saying the measure is Arizona's attempt to enforce immigration laws because the federal government won't do it.

Palin to Obama: 'Do your job, secure our border' - CNN.com

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