HOUSTON, Texas–Michigan Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-MI) called on President Obama to deploy the National Guard to the Southwestern borer to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with the recent surge of illegal immigrant children. In a letter to the President, Miller said that Border Patrol agents should be put back on the border instead of processing or babysitting for the children who have been captured attempting to enter the U.S.
Miller, who serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, joined others in blaming the Obama Administration’s decision to offer tentative legal status to young adult illegal immigrants already in the U.S. as the reason behind the surge of children, according to a report in the Washington Times by Stephen Dinan. Miller claimed Obama’s actions caused rumors of legal status for new arrivals back in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. This is the source of most of the children being captured along the border region.
Breitbart Texas contributing editor and border security expert, Sylvia responded to Millers request saying, “This sounds like a much-needed measure in light of the past assistance National Guard troops have provided border agents through missions like Operation Jumpstart. However, what many people forget is that National Guard soldiers are prohibited by the Posse Comitatus Act from enforcing civilian law.”
“During the years they served on the border,” Longmire continued, “they served as additional eyes and ears only for Border Patrol agents. They also assisted with intelligence analysis, civil engineering projects, and provided a bevy of military-grade equipment. But at most, they could only spot potential illegal border crossers to agents and wait for agents to respond.”
“Sending hundreds or even more than a thousand National Guard soldiers to the border, “Longmire continued, “doesn’t change the fact that more Border Patrol agents would also be needed to actually apprehend people. Guard troops would also not be able to assist with the processing of illegal immigrants at the patrol stations, so their utility without additional Border Patrol personnel would be limited at best.”
In 2011, Congressman Ted Poe had introduced the National Guard Border Enforcement Act to provide a mechanism for border state governors to deploy their respective state’s National Guard units along their border regions. The units would, according to Poe, retain their law enforcement authority because they would be under the control and jurisdiction of the state’s governor, but the federal government would bear the cost of the deployment. Breitbart Texas reached out to Congressman Poe’s office to inquire about the current status of this bill. Congressman Poe responded and said the bill is still active in this session and he plans to offer it as an amendment to the National Defense Appropriations Act.
Rep. Candice Miller told the Washington Times in the article above, she believed the way to combat the surge was for the President to make a concerted public relations effort to tell families in these Central American counties that their children will not be allowed to stay and the will be sent home.
The call from Miller comes on the same day Texans are petitioning Texas Governor Rick Perry to call a special session to allocate funds for the Texas Department of Public Safety and other local law enforcement agencies to create an effective task force to secure and gain operational control of the border between Texas and Mexico and this state’s ports.
Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.