NOGALES, Arizona: The deployment of National Guard to the US-Mexican border is an effective deterrent to illegal immigration and has boosted drug seizures and lowered apprehensions by 30% in the busiest area, said Tucson sector Border Patrol.

In the mid-1990s, Border Patrol added agents and infrastructure to urban points of entry from San Diego, California, to El Paso, Texas, steering traffic into the Tucson, Arizona sector.

The initiative, dubbed "Operation Gatekeeper" assumed that the remote desert terrain would deter migrants, but caused a sharp increase in illegal crossings in Arizona.

Forty percent of all migrant apprehensions occur in the Tucson sector. Last year the sector saw nearly half a million apprehensions. According to the latest estimates, 12mn immigrants are currently living in the US illegally.

The debate over illegal immigration has embroiled US lawmakers for months and is expected to play heavily in the November elections. President George W Bush has called for "a rational immigration policy, one that enforces the rule of law, but is compassionate about how this country treats people."

"Operation Jumpstart," the latest effort to beef up the border, aims to add 6,000 troops to the border at the cost of $770mn over two years. Currently 700 National Guard troops are deployed on the Arizona border in the Tucson sector.

The effort will get "badges back to the border," said Border Patrol Chief, David Aguilar. The troops are repairing vehicles, building roads and fences, and working control rooms, freeing up trained Border Patrol agents to work in the field.

"We’re covering a lot more area, and we are that much more effective," Tucson sector Border Patrol agent, Sean King, said.

King reports a 38% increase in drug seizures compared to this time last year in the Tucson sector.

"Just this morning we seized three trucks up in Ajo with approximately 3,000 pounds of marijuana," he said.

The Nogales headquarters in the Tucson sector has just over 500 agents, making it the busiest in the Border Patrol. Here, National Guard troops from Wisconsin have taken over some of the day-to-day operations.

In the control room, National Guard troops monitor video output from the 20 cameras in the Nogales area.

"This is a lot like other kinds of tracking work I’ve done for the Army," Specialist Travis Arnold said, sitting at a station occupied by a Border Patrol agent the week before.

The most visible evidence of the National Guard presence on the Nogales border are the camouflaged observation posts known as Entry Identification Teams. Under US flags, teams of four troops keep watch over the border barriers just west of Nogales in 24-hour shifts.

"If an illegal looks over from those hills and sees a bunch of soldiers with M-16 rifles slung over their shoulders, they probably will think twice about crossing here," said King.

The National Guard stations will extend across the entire Tucson sector, according to King. He could not confirm the exact number of planned surveillance posts, but currently only four stretch west of Nogales.

"The illegals change their tactics every time we change ours," said King. "It’s always interesting to see what they do next."

Some National Guard Troops stationed on the hilltops outside of Nogales seemed doubtful of their impact.

"Basically we’re just making them walk further," Private Jackson of Virginia said.

But others echoed the logic of deterrence.

"We’re here showing force," said Sargeant Doss. "If you walk into a mall and see a security guard, you’re gonna think twice before you shoplift."

Much of the work by the National Guard in the Nogales area is road maintenance, fence construction, and the placement of vehicle barriers.

The US Congress voted overwhelmingly last week to fund the construction of 600km of triple layer border fence.

Civilian border watcher and critic of the Border Patrol, Glen Spencer, feels that this bipartisan vote is vindication of his work. He operates a surveillance outpost 80km east of Nogales near the San Pedro river. His eighteen acres in the shadow of a Border Patrol camera tower are roamed by seven German Shepherds.

He flies the border three times a week in a Cesna airplane outfitted with video and still cameras, then uploads images to his website "American Border Patrol." His self-described mission is to show how the Border Patrol is designed to fail.

"The only thing that will make a difference in this fight against the illegals is a 14-ft fence the length of the border," Spencer said.

"The American people are finally getting fed up and the politicians are starting to take action, but back in Washington DC they handpick people that will make sure the Border Patrol doesn’t work."

Spencer monitors Border Patrol radio frequencies 12 hours a day and documents what he sees as gross miscommunication within the system.

"The goal of the Border Patrol should not be the apprehension of illegal immigrants," said Spencer. "It should be to stop illegal immigration entirely." – AFP