National Guard Moves On Border Next Month

La Opinión, El Pregonero, News Report

 WASHINGTON -- Following the announcement by President Obama in May, the National Guard will be deployed to the border beginning Aug. 1, La Opinión reports.

The troops will be armed but the use of their weapons will be limited to self defense only. They will help combat transnational criminal organizations engaged in human trafficking and smuggling of weapons and money across the southwest border.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that the area will also make use of more technology, including mobile surveillance systems, temperature image binoculars and air support.

“The National Guard is mobilizing in response to the request for assistance from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)," said Gen. Craig McKinley, head of the National Guard Bureau, according to an article published by El Pregonero. McKinley also said that the troops will “provide support services in the operations of law enforcement agencies according to the government view that border security is a challenge that corresponds to these agencies.”

Alan Bersin, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), called this most recent deployment of troops “a continuation of an ongoing effort to strengthen the border. Each case must be evaluated on its merits.”