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Guard Border MIssion Wraps Up
By Charlie
Jump Start Jumps TOC:
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has told the governors that the military was just a temporary boost during crackdowns that have brought a 20 percent drop in migrant apprehensions the past year--an indicator that overall illegal traffic is down."OJS has succeeded," Chertoff wrote recently to the four governors. "Although there is more to accomplish, the administration has made great progress toward securing our borders and combating the threats of criminals and terrorists exploiting our borders."
The Guard touts a list of achievements, including:
* building 38 miles of new border fence,
* building 90 miles of vehicle barriers and
* assisting in 174,317 apprehensions.
"In our view, we have had a raging success. We think we made a difference," said National Guard Bureau spokesman Randal Noller.
Meanwhile, from news agency that I apparently have to pay to quote from, the border state governors are very concerned about the end of OJS, and according to the news agency, the governors of Arizona and California both sent a letter to Washington to request an extension of the operation, even going so far as to call the planned withdrawal "irresponsible."
I would like to remind the state governors that it is fully within their power to deploy their state national guard assets in accordance with US Title 32 for "providing trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise required by state law. " The "as otherwise required" clause in the mission could easily relate to a border security role, but I think the wrinkle here is who will pay for it. All in all, OJS was a successful, bread and butter National Guard mission, and big ups to everyone that participated.
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Who will pay for it is exactly the question.
My Gov. Arnold has taken the position that border control is a federal question and federal dollars should be used (of course we have no extra money in California at the moment anyway!)