Whenever we hear talk of deploying the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border, whether it's to combat illegal immigration or fight drug traffickers and arms smugglers or, heaven forbid, to seal the border against the spread of the swine flu, we're naturally apprehensive.
Such was the case when we learned that the Pentagon and Homeland Security Department are developing contingency plans to send National Guard troops to the border under a $350 million initiative that would expand the role of the U.S. military in the drug war. Administration officials say the proposal is designed to give President Barack Obama more options about how to respond to the drug violence that already seems to be spilling over in milder forms to parts of the United States. The initiative was folded into the supplemental budget request sent to Congress this month.
Why wouldn't we be concerned about the idea of sending National Guard troops to the border? Unlike our friends in the Northeast or Midwest, those of us who live along the border have a more realistic view of such issues and don't have the luxury of lunging at simplistic solutions that create more problems.
We know better. We know, for instance, that it is rarely a good idea to entrust the military to take the place of civilian law enforcement agencies, something specifically prohibited by the Posse Comitatus Act.
However, we have also learned from recent experience that there is some good that can come from using the National Guard on the border, provided it is relegated to a support role. The Bush administration deployed as many as 6,000 Guard troops on the border in Operation Jump Start, which began in 2006 and ended two years later. The focus was combating illegal immigration, a task that Border Patrol agents were able to concentrate on once the troops took over other tasks such as helping to install fencing or fix vehicles.
There is every indication from administration officials that what they have in mind this time around is something similar. That's good to hear. We'll keep on eye on this to make sure the administration stays true to its word.
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