Border governors worried about National Guard pullout

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The thousands of National Guardsmen sent to reinforce the U.S.-Mexican border two years ago have almost completely withdrawn, despite pleas from border-state governors once skeptical of using soldiers to catch illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.

When the Guard was posted along the southern frontier in 2006 to help the strapped Border Patrol, critics warned that sending soldiers would be an insult to Mexico and that innocents could get shot by troops trained for combat, not law enforcement.

But none of that happened, and now those worries have given way to fears that a bloody drug-cartel war on the Mexican side will spill into the U.S. and overwhelm the Border Patrol.

The four border-state governors who contributed the bulk of the troops have tried in vain to persuade Congress and the White House to extend the Guard’s presence, which will end as scheduled on July 15.

“Until Border Patrol has all its new boots on the ground, there’s going to be a vulnerability,” said Pahl Shipley, spokesman for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Full Story Here:
Border governors worried about National Guard pullout

Even when the Border Patrol gets ‘all it’s new boots on the ground’ there will be a vulnerability, the best thing that happened along the border was the deployment of the National Guard, the only issue I had, the only area I still disagree with was the fact that the Guard wasn’t armed and in full combat mode, in many cases the Guard was completely unarmed and faced many dangers due to that faux pas.

I sincerely hope the Border Patrol can stem the flow, but I honestly don’t think they can stop them ALL, and that’s a shame too, I fear there will always be a flow of illegals into this nation, they want the money that they can earn and employers are looking for cheap, albeit ILLEGAL labor, but, as many have said before, there is a silver lining behind some of those dark cloud, my blogging buddy J.R. at A Keyboard and a .45 offers up this great piece:

Fort Worth – But high gas prices are forcing contractors and day laborers to change how they do business, which is causing a ripple effect in other areas.

Construction projects and landscaping jobs are being delayed because contractors can’t afford to pick up workers. And workers faced with additional costs for gasoline or the purchase of a car are giving up on day-labor jobs and going back to their home countries.

Some laborers, like Pablo Trinidad, resort to carpooling to reduce gas costs. But Trinidad, 40, says fuel prices decrease the amount he’s able to send to his family in Puebla, Mexico, from $100 to $50.

“If things get worse, I will work only to pay for my ride to go back home,” Trinidad said.  The Brighter Side of High Fuel Costs