Larger guard presence sought at border

NOGALES, Ariz., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Lawmakers from U.S. states bordering Mexico say they want a larger National Guard deployment to counter rising drug cartel violence.

U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, has proposed legislation allowing border-state governors to send as many as 10,000 guardsmen to the region, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Currently 1,200 guardsmen are deployed at the border, 560 of them in Arizona where lawmakers want a larger force following the Dec. 14 killing of a Border Patrol agent just north of Nogales.

"The border with Mexico is our third front, after Afghanistan and Iraq," Poe said. "Whether you want to call it a war zone, or whatever, we need the National Guard because of criminal violence along the border."

Border-state lawmakers from both parties have told the Post they view the U.S. military presence as a long-term necessity despite rules that prevent National Guardsmen from making arrests or seizing drugs.

"We are extra eyes and ears," said Brig. Gen. Jose Salinas of the Arizona National Guard. "We're out there in the open, trying to act as a deterrent, ready to respond to any kind of weird incident out there."