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Bush may put Guard troops on border
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published May 15, 2006
WASHINGTON - 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, White House officials 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 an overextended military. Two White House officials 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. The Associated Press said the officials, whom it did not name, would not say how many troops Bush wanted to use, except that it would be in the thousands but less than an estimate of up to 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. "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 main goal is to allow foreigners to get temporary work permits, but many conservatives want a tougher approach on illegal immigrants. Bush's address is at 8 p.m. today.
[Last modified May 15, 2006, 08:25:45]
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