The Republican governors of three states along the U.S.-Mexico border pledged a total of 1,600 National Guard troops to the frontier Monday — close to half the maximum number President Trump requested to help crack down on illegal immigration and smuggling.
Trump said last week he wants to send between 2,000 and 4,000 National Guard members to the border, issuing a proclamation citing “the lawlessness that continues at our southern border.”
“My administration has no choice but to act,” he wrote.
Trump has said he wants to use the military at the border until progress is made on his proposed border wall, which has mostly stalled in Congress. Defense Secretary James Mattis last Friday approved paying for up to 4,000 National Guard personnel from the Pentagon budget through the end of September.
The largest commitment comes from Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott told San Antonio radio station KTSA that he would add about 300 troops a week until the total number reaches at least 1,000 troops.
Some Guard members will be armed if they are placed in potential danger, Abbott said, adding he wanted to downplay speculation that “our National Guard is showing up with military bayonets trying to take on anybody that’s coming across the border, because that is not their role.”
There is no end date for the deployment, Abbott said: “We may be in this for the long haul.”
In Arizona, the state National Guard announced it was boosting…
