Mexico's Fox Calls Bush Over Border Plan

By IOAN GRILLO Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Vicente Fox telephoned President Bush on Sunday to express his concern about what he called the possibility of a "militarized" border between the two nations.

According to Fox's office, Bush told his Mexican counterpart he was considering sending the National Guard to the border but said this did not constitute a militarization.

Bush "is analyzing the administrative and logistical support of part of the National Guard, not the Army, to help police on the border," Fox's office said.

Bush is expected to make a speech on how the United States should deal with border security and illegal immigrants already in the United States on Monday night.

A White House official told The Associated Press on Sunday that Bush will call for thousands of National Guard troops to be deployed along the Mexico border in support of patrols aimed at keeping out illegal immigrants.

White House aides worked into the night Sunday to iron out details of the proposal and allay concerns among lawmakers that using troops to man the border would further burden an overextended military.

The White House official said Bush would propose using troops as a stopgap while the Border Patrol builds up its resources. The troops would play a supportive role to Border Patrol agents, who would maintain primary responsibility for physically guarding the border.

The official spoke on a condition of anonymity before Bush's expected address on the topic on Monday. The official would not say how many troops Bush wanted to use, except that it would be in the thousands but less than an estimate of as many as 10,000 being discussed at the Pentagon.

Bush is considering the National Guard plan as he seeks support from conservatives in Congress for his immigration bill.

The president wants to allow foreigners to get temporary work permits to enter and work in the United States, but many conservatives want a tougher approach on illegal immigrants.

The Mexican news release said Bush and Fox agreed that a comprehensive immigration reform is needed in the United States.

"In the conversation, President Bush reiterated his conviction that the migration issue can only be resolved with an integral and comprehensive reform," the release said.

Fox has lobbied incessantly for the U.S. government to legalize some of the 11 million undocumented migrants living in the United States, about half of whom are Mexicans.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3862834.html

Bush to call for Guard troops at Mexican border

Updated Sun. May. 14 2006 8:01 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

U.S. President George Bush plans to use the National Guard to help keep illegal immigrants from entering through the Mexican border. He's expected to make the proposal Monday evening.

A White House official told The Associated Press that the National Guard would support the existing Border Patrol, which would maintain authority.

Stephen Hadley, the president's national security adviser, did not confirm the proposal but told CNN's Late Edition it was an option Bush was considering.

"It's not about militarization of the border," he said. "It's about assisting the civilian border patrol in doing their job, providing intelligence, providing support, logistics support and training and these sorts of things."

Bush's apparent plan could be a way to appease conservatives who want stronger border security, while he presses forward another proposal to give foreigners temporary work permits for low-paying jobs.

The National Guard already has a small presence at the Mexican border. About 100 troops help with anti-drug smuggling operations, among other duties.

"I think what it would be is simply expanding the kind of thing that has already been done in the past in order to provide a bit of a stopgap as the Border Patrol build up their capacity to deal with this challenge," Hadley said on CNN.

On Sunday, Bush spoke with Mexican President Vicente Fox over the phone and assured him a military presence at the border would only play an administrative and logistical role, according to Fox's office.

One critic of Bush's likely proposal was a fellow Republican: Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.

He told ABC's This Week the National Guard could do little to secure the border in the long run, since its numbers are already stretched thin in operations outside the country.

"We've got National Guard members on their second, third and fourth tours in Iraq," he said.

"We have stretched our military as thin as we have ever seen it in modern times. And what in the world are we talking about here, sending a National Guard that we may not have any capacity to send up to or down to protect borders? That's not their role."

Hagel argued a better solution would be a bill he helped introduce, and which the Senate is debating.

It would double the Border Patrol from 12,000 to 24,000 over the next five years.

"That's the way to fix it, not further stretching the National Guard," he said.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...60514?hub=World

Update 4: Bush to Call for Guard Troops on Border
By NEDRA PICKLER , 05.14.2006, 07:07 PM

President Bush will call for thousands of National Guard troops to be deployed along the Mexico border in support of patrols aimed at keeping out illegal immigrants, a White House official said Sunday on the eve of an Oval Office address announcing the plan.

White House aides worked into the night Sunday to iron out details of the proposal and allay concerns among lawmakers that using troops to man the border would further burden the an overextended military.

A White House official said Bush would propose using troops as a stopgap measure while the Border Patrol builds up its resources. The troops would play a supportive role to Border Patrol agents, who would maintain primary responsibility for physically guarding the border.

The official spoke on a condition of anonymity before the address Monday at 8 p.m. EST. The official would not say how many troops Bush wanted to use, except that it would be in the thousands but less than an estimate of as many as 10,000 being discussed at the Pentagon.

Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, would not confirm that using National Guard troops was the plan but said it was one of the options the president was considering. But he described the same scenario.

"It's not about militarization of the border," Hadley said on CNN's "Late Edition." "It's about assisting the civilian border patrol in doing their job, providing intelligence, providing support, logistics support and training and these sorts of things."

Bush's National Guard plan is aimed at winning support for broader immigration reform from conservatives in Congress. Bush's main goal is to allow foreigners to get temporary work permits to take low-paying jobs - an idea favored by the business community. But many conservatives want a tougher approach on illegal immigrants trying to sneak into the country.

About 100 National Guard troops are serving on the border to assist with counter-drug operations, heavy equipment support and other functions.

"I think what it would be is simply expanding the kind of thing that has already been done in the past in order to provide a bit of a stopgap as the Border Patrol build up their capacity to deal with this challenge," Hadley said.

Bush gave the same message to Mexican President Vicente Fox, who called Sunday to discuss his plans. Bush assured Fox that any military support would be administrative and logistical and would come from the National Guard and not the Army, according to a news release from Fox's office.

Criticism of the National Guard plan came Sunday from Democrats, but also an important Republican negotiator in the immigration debate - Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. He said National Guard troops cannot secure the border over the long term and that he does not think it is wise even in the short term.

"We've got National Guard members on their second, third and fourth tours in Iraq," Hagel said. "We have stretched our military as thin as we have ever seen it in modern times. And what in the world are we talking about here, sending a National Guard that we may not have any capacity to send up to or down to protect borders? That's not their role."

Hagel said the bill under debate in the Senate that he helped write would double the 12,000-strong Border Patrol force over the next five years. "That's the way to fix it, not further stretching the National Guard," he said on ABC's "This Week."

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said there may be a need for troops to fill in while the Border Patrol is bolstered. But he did not seem confident that the National Guard could take on the extra duty.

"We have stretched these men and women so thin, so thin, because of the bad mistakes done by the civilians in the military here, that I wonder how they're going to be able to do it," Biden said, also on ABC.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said he supported using the National Guard on the Mexican border. He said lawmakers who doubt that the National Guard, whose members have served for years in Iraq and went to the Gulf Coast after last summer's hurricanes, could take on border patrol duty are "whining" and "moaning."

"We've got to secure our borders," Frist said on CNN's "Late Edition." "We hear it from the American people. We've got millions of people coming across that border. First and foremost, secure the border, whatever it takes. Everything else we've done has failed. We've got to face that. And so we need to bring in, I believe, the National Guard."

Frist said the full Senate planned to begin debating the immigration bill Monday and that it would take up to two weeks to pass.

Senators would have to resolve any differences with the House version of the bill, which did not address the guest worker issue but increases penalties for illegal immigration activities and funds a 700-mile border fence.

The statement from Fox's office and another from the White House said the two presidents agreed that immigration reform be comprehensive - meaning that it go beyond the tough punitive measures that some conservatives are promoting to stem the flow of immigrants.

White House spokeswoman Maria Tamburri said Bush made clear to Fox that "the United States considered Mexico a friend and that what is being considered is not militarization of the border, but support of border capabilities on a temporary basis by the National Guard."

http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/ap/.../ap2744690.html

Mexico's Fox Calls Bush to Discuss Border

Sunday May 14, 2006 11:01 PM

By NEDRA PICKLER

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Mexican President Vicente Fox telephoned President Bush on Sunday to discuss comprehensive immigration reform as members of Congress expressed concern that using National Guard troops to keep illegal immigrants from crossing the border would further burden an overextended military.

The criticism on the eve of Bush's planned Oval Office speech to the nation on immigration came from Democrats, but also an important Republican negotiator in the immigration debate - Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. He said National Guard troops cannot secure the border over the long term and that he does not think it is wise even in the short term.

White House spokeswoman Maria Tamburri said Bush made clear to Fox in the morning telephone conversation that ``the United States considered Mexico a friend and that what is being considered is not militarization of the border, but support of border capabilities on a temporary basis by the National Guard.''

She said the two presidents discussed cooperative efforts under way along the border and that Bush reiterated to Fox ``his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform.''

She said Fox ``reached out'' to Bush, but she did not know how long the call lasted or the time it occurred.

A news release from Fox's office said the Mexican president initiated the call and characterized Bush as ``analyzing the administrative and logistical support of part of the National Guard, not the army, to help police on the border.''

The Mexican release said that Bush and Fox agreed that a comprehensive immigration reform is needed in the United States.

``In the conversation, President Bush reiterated his conviction that the migration issue can only be resolved with an integral and comprehensive reform,'' said the release.

``We've got National Guard members on their second, third and fourth tours in Iraq,'' Hagel said. ``We have stretched our military as thin as we have ever seen it in modern times. And what in the world are we talking about here, sending a National Guard that we may not have any capacity to send up to or down to protect borders? That's not their role.''

The president's national security adviser said sending troops to patrol the border with Mexico is among the ideas Bush is considering on immigration.

Bush planned to say in his national address at 8 p.m. EDT Monday how the government should deal with border security and illegal immigrants already in the United States, Stephen Hadley said.

``This is not about militarizing the border,'' Hadley said on ``Face the Nation'' on CBS. ``The president is looking to do everything he can to secure the border. It's what the American people want.''

Bush is considering the National Guard plan as he seeks support from conservatives in Congress for his immigration bill. Bush wants to allow foreigners to get temporary work permits to enter and work in the U.S., but many conservatives want a tougher approach on illegal immigrants trying to sneak into the country.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said he supported using the National Guard on the Mexican border. He said lawmakers who doubt that the National Guard, whose members have served for years in Iraq and went to the Gulf Coast after last summer's hurrt and foremost, secure the border, whatever it takes. Everything else we've done has failed. We've got to face that. And so we need to bring in, I believe, the National Guard.''

Hagel said the bill under debate in the Senate that he helped write would double the 12,000-strong Border Patrol force over the next five years. ``That's the way to fix it, not further stretching the National Guard,'' he said on ABC's ``This Week.''

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said there may be a need for troops to fill in while the Border Patrol is bolstered. But he did not seem confident that the National Guard could take on the extra duty.

``We have stretched these men and women so thin, so thin, because of the bad mistakes done by the civilians in the military here, that I wonder how they're going to be able to do it,'' Biden said, also on ABC.

About 100 National Guard troops are serving on the border to assist with counter-drug operations, heavy equipment support and other functions. Bush is considering an increase into the thousands, and Hadley would not directly rule out using armed National Guard troops directly on guard duty.

Hadley also would not say whether Bush supports building a fence or wall along part of the border with Mexico. Hadley said the president and Congress will have to decide how immigrant workers who are in the U.S. illegally can become citizens.

Frist said the full Senate planned to begin debating the immigration bill Monday and that it would take up to two weeks to pass.

Senators would have to resolve any differences with the House version of the bill, which did not address the guest worker issue but increases penalties for illegal immigration activities and funds a 700-mile border fence.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...5821835,00.html

UPDATE 2-Border troops would be temporary, US tells Mexico
Sun May 14, 2006 6:21 PM ET
By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush assured Mexican President Vicente Fox on Sunday he did not intend to militarize their countries' mutual border, but was considering sending National Guard troops there to temporarily support border control efforts.

"The president made clear that the United States considers Mexico a friend and that what is being considered is not militarization of the border, but support of border patrol capabilities on a temporary basis by National Guard personnel," White House spokeswoman Maria Tamburri said, describing a telephone conversation between Bush and his Mexican counterpart.

Fox "reached out" to Bush on Sunday to relay his concerns about the plan that is under consideration, Tamburri said.

Bush will deliver a televised address to the nation on immigration on Monday evening. The White House said last week he may propose deploying more National Guard troops along the 2,000-mile (3,200 km) border to stop illegal immigration.

Fox's office said during the call Bush said the United States and Mexico were partners and friends, but a thorough immigration reform was needed to solve the problem between both countries.

The idea has also gotten a mixed reception on Capitol Hill, where some senators are worried that the National Guard is already stretched too thin to take on major additional duties.

White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley went on television Sunday to emphasize that no final decision on sending the troops had been made. He said the idea was to "provide a bit of a stopgap as the Border Patrol build up their capacity to deal with this challenge.

"This is something that's actually already being done. It's not about militarization of the border," Hadley said on CNN's "Late Edition."

'PROVIDING INTELLIGENCE, PROVIDING SUPPORT'

"It's about assisting the civilian Border Patrol in doing their job, providing intelligence, providing support, logistics support and training and these sorts of things," he said.

The Border Patrol arrested nearly 1.2 million people last year trying to cross the Mexican border and estimates that 500,000 others evaded capture.

In his Monday address, timed to coincide with the resumption of a Senate debate on immigration reform, Bush is expected to express support for a temporary worker program and a plan to give millions of illegal immigrants a path to U.S. citizenship.

The president's speech comes as his job approval ratings continue to slide to around 30 percent in some recent polls.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said on Sunday he backed sending National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Everything else we've done has failed, we've got to face that. And so, we need to bring in, I believe, the National Guard," Frist, a Tennessee Republican, argued on CNN's "Late Edition."

But Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, who helped broker the compromise immigration legislation to be debated on the Senate floor this week, said he was "skeptical."

"I think we have to be very careful here. That's not the role of our military. That's not the role of our National Guard," Hagel said on ABC's "This Week."

Hagel said 75 percent of the equipment of National Guard forces was in Iraq, and noted that some National Guard members had done as many as four tours of duty there.

"We have stretched our military as thin as we have ever seen it in modern times," Hagel said. "And what in the world are we talking about here, sending a National Guard that we may not have any capacity to send, up to, or down to, protect borders?"

http://today.reuters.com/investing/finance...ON-UPDATE-2.XML

Bush to Deploy Guard at Border

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 15, 2006; Page A01

President Bush tried to ease the worries of his Mexican counterpart yesterday as he prepared for a nationally televised address tonight unveiling a plan to send thousands of National Guard troops to help seal the nation's southern border against illegal immigrants.

Mexican President Vicente Fox called to express concern over the prospect of militarization of the border and Bush reassured him that it would only be a temporary measure to bolster overwhelmed Border Patrol agents, the White House said.

"The president made clear that the United States considers Mexico a friend and that what is being considered is not militarization of the border but support of Border Patrol capabilities on a temporary basis by National Guard personnel," said White House spokeswoman Maria Tamburri.

Yet the idea has further stirred an already volatile debate about immigration on both sides of the border even before the president makes his primetime speech from the Oval Office at 8 p.m. A number of Democrats and even a few key Republicans voiced skepticism or outright opposition to the reported plan yesterday, calling it a politically motivated move that will only further strain units already stretched by duty in Iraq without solving the underlying problem of illegal immigration.

"We have to be very careful here," Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Okla.) said on ABC's "This Week." "That's not the role of our military. That's not the role of our National Guard. . . . That's a short-term fix, and I'm not sure that's a very wise fix."

The White House formally insisted that no decision has been made and that Bush was still considering options yesterday. But aides left little doubt that the president intends to call for an expanded guard deployment at the border involving several thousand troops, a significant increase from the 200 or so now there.

Officials suggested their mission would be to play a supporting role by providing intelligence, training, transportation, construction and other functions, while leaving the actual guarding of the 2,000-mile line separating the United States and Mexico to the Border Patrol. The National Guard would be a stopgap force until the federal government could hire civilian contractors to take over administrative and support functions from the Border Patrol, freeing more agents to actually hunt for immigrants slipping into the country.

"This is not about militarizing the border," national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "The president is looking to do everything he can to secure the border. It's what the American people want, it's what he wants to do."

The prospective plan won support from several powerful Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) dismissed the "whining and moaning" of critics and said the National Guard was the only option in the short term.

"We've got to secure our borders," Frist said on CNN's "Late Edition." "We hear from the American people. We've got millions of people coming across that border. First and foremost, secure the border, whatever it takes. Everything else we've done has failed, we've got to face that."

Some in the president's conservative base called on him to be even more aggressive. Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.) said Bush should send 36,000 National Guard troops and eventually up to 48,000, drawn from around the nation. "If President Bush signed that order Monday night, our border would be secure for the first time in decades by Memorial Day at the latest," Norwood said in a statement. "Mr. Fox and La Raza wouldn't like it -- but the American people sure would."

The president's plan could increase the strain with Fox, who has grown disenchanted with Bush's failure to ease immigration rules as promised. Fox for years has pressured Bush to help the 12 million illegal immigrants now in the United States, many of them from Mexico, with little to show for it. In their 15-minute call yesterday, "the president reiterated to President Fox his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform," Tamburri said.

Tonight's speech is aimed at assuaging House Republicans who have insisted on tougher enforcement measures against workers illegally in the country. If the House contingent feels action is being taken, White House officials hope they may yet sign off on some version of Bush's guest worker proposal providing a way for undocumented immigrants to stay here legally if they pay back taxes and penalties.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6051400773.html

Mexicans react to Bush's border plan

By Hugh Dellios
Tribune foreign correspondent
Published May 15, 2006, 7:23 PM CDT

MEXICO CITY -- Mexicans chafed Monday at the notion that President Bush wants to send National Guard troops to help enforce the U.S.-Mexico border, even as President Vicente Fox tried to downplay the seriousness of the move.

Many said the Guard troops could do little to stop determined migrants from finding unguarded places to cross the 2,000-mile border. Neither would the Guard do anything to solve the deeper issues behind the migration, they said.

Some were offended at a "militarization" they thought more appropriate for the border between openly hostile countries and feared that troops could become a permanent presence redefining the U.S.-Mexico relationship.

"It's worrying," said Arturo Solis, an immigrant rights activist in Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. "The bad thing is that the American government is insisting on confusing immigration with a criminal problem."

The move reminded some historians of 1913, when President William Taft sent troops to the Texas border. Mexico was in the midst of a chaotic revolution, and Taft was warning Mexican generals and rebels not to harm U.S. interests south of the border.

At the time, there was no real threat to American soil, but the U.S. public was clamoring for action, said Lorenzo Meyer, a prominent historian at the Colegio de Mexico.

"It sounds very familiar," Meyer said. "Taft said, 'No, no, no, this is not an unfriendly move. We just want to make sure that nothing happens at the border.' But it sent a signal that a peaceful border was being regarded as dangerous."

The U.S. Army invaded Mexico in 1916 after revolutionary Pancho Villa and his men raided the border town of Columbus, N.M. National Guard units were ordered to the border then to back up the troops.

Fox tried to soothe misgivings about the proposal Monday, a day after he telephoned Bush to express his concerns about it.

Fox's spokesman, Ruben Aguilar, said Bush assured Fox that the action would not constitute a militarization of the border and that the Guard would only be involved in administrative and logistical work.

Aguilar said that Bush and Fox agreed that "the border problem" needs "an integral solution, not a police solution."

U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza also tried to allay concerns Monday. In a statement, he said Guard troops would relieve U.S. Border Patrol agents of "routine tasks" so they could "focus on capturing the criminals and smugglers."

Fox's reaction was far softer than the harsh words he used in December to criticize a U.S. House proposal to extend security fences along the border. On Monday, Aguilar echoed more recent efforts by Mexico to stay out of the fray, saying "We cannot intervene in the sovereign decisions of [other] nations."

But others criticized Fox for appearing to acquiesce to Bush's Guard plan. Some said they saw an ulterior motive—that Fox wants to help Bush convince Congress to pass wider immigration reforms before Mexico's July 2 presidential election, which would allow Fox to claim success and help his party's candidate, Felipe Calderon.

"He is accepting what Bush decides to get some benefit for his government and his candidate," Solis said.

Solis is concerned that Guard troops would not be prepared for sensitive immigration-control work. He recalled how U.S. Marines working along the Texas border shot and killed an innocent young sheep herder in 1997.

Meyer said the move also would underscore Mexico's own problems.

"We can't be proud of ourselves, sending our people to another country that doesn't want them," he said.

"But this is like giving an aspirin to care for a fever, and the fever isn't even diagnosed. I don't think [President Bush] believes this is the solution, but the public will say, 'At least he did something.'"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/...agepromo440-fea