EL PASO, Texas – Some sheriffs, residents and immigrant advocates along the nation’s southern edge raised doubts Monday about President Bush’s plan to send up to 6,000 National Guardsmen to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants across the Mexican border.
Mexican President Vicente Fox called Bush over the weekend to say he did not believe sending soldiers to the border was the answer, although his administration said Monday that he will respect Bush’s decision.
While some people along the border welcomed the idea, others expressed concern that the troops, especially those returning from tours in Iraq, might shoot first and investigate later, despite assurances from the White House that deployed troops at the border would serve only a support role.
Those people worried about a repeat of the 1997 fatal shooting of an 18-year-old goat herder by Marines on a drug-control mission in west Texas.
“I think because there are a lot of undocumented people here already, it’s going to get out of hand,” said Becky Montelongo, who manages a thrift shop in El Paso.
Overworked sheriffs said if the federal government really wants to help, it could send money for more deputies, equipment and training.
“It’s like sticking their finger in the dike and stopping the flow and not worrying about the high water already on this side of the dike,” said Sheriff Lupe Trevino of Hidalgo County, Texas.
“We need to stop them at the border, but we also need to deal with those who are already in the country – inside my country – that are creating havoc.”
Sheriff Rick Flores of Webb County, which includes Laredo and receives the spillover of violence from drug-wracked Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, said the president’s plan will not stop illegal immigration.
“I guess he wants his ratings to come up by sending troops to the border, but that’s not the panacea,” said Flores, a Democrat. “All we’ve been asking for is to give us the resources that we need. We were expecting a dollar, and now we’re probably going to get a nickel.”
On the Mexican side of the border in Cuidad Juarez, Jorge Gutierrez said it will take a lot more than U.S. troops to keep him and other immigrants out. “No guard, no wall will keep us from crossing,” he said.
Jesus Rodriguez, 49, agreed. He was looking for ways to cross one of Juarez’s international bridges. “For Mexicans, there are no obstacles,” he said.
The Mexican president wants the Bush administration to give amnesty to millions of migrants in the U.S. and allow more to seek jobs legally from outside the country.
Ruben Aguilar, Fox’s spokesman, told reporters on Monday that Fox “expressed his concern” over the proposal to Bush, but had no choice but to respect it.
“It is a sovereign decision,” he said. “We can’t interfere.”
Associated Press
Ernesto Chavez of Nogales, Ariz., said President Bush’s plan is over-
due, but probably won’t do much to secure the Mexican border.
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