Texas, Arizona to deploy troops to Mexico border

The US states of Texas and Arizona on Friday announced plans to sendNational Guard troops to the southern border with Mexico after PresidentDonald Trump ordered a thousands-strong deployment to combat drugtrafficking and illegal immigration.The Texas National Guard said it would send 250 troops to the borderwithin 72 hours and had already deployed two Lakota helicopters, whileArizona’s governor said he would send 150 personnel next week.“The Texas national guard is preparing to immediately deploy withsupporting aircraft, vehicles and equipment to the Texas-Mexico border,”Brigadier General Tracy Norris, the commanding general of the TexasNational Guard, told reporters at a briefing.“This deployment has begun with the movement of equipment and troopstoday. Within 72 hours the Texas military department will have 250personnel along with ground surveillance vehicles as well as light andmedium aviation platforms,” she added.Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced his plans in a tweet.Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis signed an order for “up to 4,000National Guard personnel to support DHS’s southern border securitymission while under the command and control of their respectivegovernors through September 30, 2018,” according to a Department ofDefense memo.The memo set out that troops would not carry out law enforcementactivities without the defence secretary’s approval and would be armedonly in “circumstances that might require self-defence.”Mattis and homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said thedecision came after their departments “identified securityvulnerabilities that could be addressed by the National Guard.” “Together, the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense arecommitted to using every lever of power to support the men and women oflaw enforcement defending our nation’s sovereignty and protecting theAmerican people,” they said in a joint statement.“We will continue to work with the governors to deploy the necessary resources until our nation’s borders are secure.”Trump had said on Thursday that the final deployment would range from2,000 to 4,000 troops, and he would “probably” keep many personnel onthe border until his promised border wall is built — spelling out alengthy mission.The move has heightened tensions with Mexico, whose President EnriquePena Nieto said Trump’s “threatening or disrespectful attitudes” wereunjustified.It has also raised questions about who will fund the mission.The Pentagon could not say where the money would come from and Trump admitted the White House was still “looking at” costs.If 4,000 troops were deployed, that would be about double the current USmilitary presence in Syria and about half as many as the number of UStroops in Iraq.The National Guard has previously been deployed to help patrol thesouthern border, including in 2010 under former president Barack Obama,and from 2006-2008 under George W Bush. Both deployments were limited to around a year.