Activists on both sides of the immigration issue say President Bush’s plan to send thousands of National Guard troops to the Mexican border isn’t immigration reform but a propaganda move to regain the support of his conservative base.
Bush, in a speech to the nation Monday, proposed using the troops to support the Border Patrol while it builds resources for securing the 2,000-mile line between the U.S. and Mexico. The Senate this week is hammering out a bill that would give some of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country a chance to become United States citizens. The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make felons of illegal immigrants and impose criminal penalties on those who provide them aid. Tim Bueler, a spokesman for the Minuteman Project, the self-appointed volunteer border patrol, said a few thousand National Guard troops won’t get the job done. “We thank him for taking our lead, but he’s pandering to his conservative base just for show,” Bueler said. The president is pretending to take a tough stance on the border so he can give amnesty to the illegal immigrants here, Bueler added.
Leaders of the We Are America Alliance, a coalition of more than 40 national pro-immigrant organizations, support measures to strengthen the borders, but not with military troops. “It sends a message of war,” said Juan Carlos Ruiz, general coordinator of the National Capital Immigration Coalition. “We should not send troops to kill innocent people who are trying to find a better way of living.” The We Are America Alliance plans to rally Wednesday on the National Mall and launch a campaign to register 1 million new voters by the November election.
Bush has assured Mexican President Vicente Fox that the move is not an attempt to militarize the border. Bush told 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. – The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Border patrol
» The White House says its plan would involve fewer than 8,000 National Guardsmen.
» There are 400,000 National Guards troops in the country.
» About 100 National Guard troops are serving on the border to assist with counter-drug smuggling operations, heavy equipment support and other functions.
