LOS ANGELES — The Obama administration is asking Congress for money to expand the Border Patrol by 1,000 agents, add scores of other federal law enforcement officers and deploy two more aerial drones as part of heightened security at the Mexican border. þþThe request came in a letter on Tuesday from President Obama to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, asking for $500 million in additional border security spending to go with 1,200 National Guard troops Mr. Obama plans to send. þþ“This request responds to urgent and essential needs,” Mr. Obama wrote without elaborating, though administration officials have previously said that their plans fit an 18-month effort to increase border security. þþMr. Obama is following in the footsteps of President George W. Bush, who likewise, in the face of a stalled effort to revamp federal immigration law, came under pressure to increase security. þþAlthough Obama administration officials have said the border is more secure than it has ever been, Mr. Obama bowed to concerns from members of his own party as well as Republicans and agreed last month to send in the National Guard and increase spending on border security. þþConcerns about drug smuggling and illegal immigration have emerged as potent issues in Congressional midterm campaigns, particularly in Arizona, where a rancher was killed in March in a crime with suspected links to drug smuggling. In April, lawmakers there enacted a state law intended to deport illegal immigrants. þþThe Justice Department plans to challenge the law in court, and on Tuesday the Mexican government filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting one of five suits pending against the law, warning about potential discrimination against its citizens. þþThe additional Border Patrol agents would give the agency 21,000 agents. Mr. Obama is also asking for 160 additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and several teams of antismuggling agents from various agencies. þþRepresentative Ann Kirkpatrick, an Arizona Democrat and member of the House Homeland Security Committee, praised the additional resources but said they were not enough. þþ“If Washington is truly serious about permanently strengthening our security, it must go beyond this request,” Ms. Kirkpatrick said. þ
Source: NY Times
