President Bush is calling for order at the border.
During his prime-time address Monday, the president announced he is sending up to 6,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and stop the flow of illegal immigrants. He also urged Congress to give many of the 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship.
"We do not yet have full control of the border and I am determined to change that," the president said in a televised address that also called for a guest worker program.
Bush's call to plug holes in the borders comes as the Senate wrestles over immigration legislation, an issue that has sparked mass demonstrations -- including a "A Day Without Immigrants" -- and split the Republican party at a time when Bush's approval rating is at its lowest.
While most Republicans agreed on tighter border control, his speech drew criticism for endorsing eventual citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. Bush has said it is not realistic to round up millions of illegal immigrants and send them home, as some have proposed.
"Thinly veiled attempts to promote amnesty cannot be tolerated," said Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. "While America is a nation of immigrants, we are also a nation of laws, and rewarding those who break our laws not only dishonors the hard work of those who came here legally but does nothing to fix our current situation."
The president has been seeking an immigration overhaul since he's been in office, but some question the wisdom of sending in the National Guard. To get a sense of the implications of Bush's plan in the areas most affected by immigration, asap turned to three AP reporters from bureaus along the Mexican border -- AP El Paso correspondent Alicia A. Caldwell, AP Tucson correspondent Arthur H. Rotstein and AP San Diego reporter Elliot Spagat.
Here, in their own words, is what they had to say.
DEPLOYING THE GUARD
The Guard troops would be under the authority of the governors, but the federal government would pick up the tab for their deployment. Bush said the troops would not arrest illegal immigrants, but would support the Border Patrol with intelligence, surveillance and other activities.
The troops, which would rotate on two-week stints, would be funded with some of the $1.9 billion requested from Congress to supplement border enforcement this year.
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Megan Scott is an asap reporter based in New York.
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