ARLINGTON, Va., - After several weeks of training, more than 800 National Guardsmen in four states are now taking up their positions alongside border patrol agents in the Southwest, a Guard official said today.
"The planned, incremental deployment is going well", said Jack Harrison, the director of communications for the National Guard Bureau. "Today, more than two-thirds of the authorized citizen Soldiers and Airmen have been identified, are in training or are already supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement."
The year-long mission calls for up to 1,200 National Guard members to support Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.
"The four Southwest border states are providing forces from within their own National Guard, and the governors and adjutants general of each state retain command and control over their National Guard members while they are on this mission," said Harrison.
Currently on duty are: 318 Guardsmen in California, 447 in Arizona, 89 in New Mexico and 39 in Texas.
The majority of the Guard members will support CBP with entry identification teams and support ICE with criminal investigative analysts.
"This mission is in support of the Department of Homeland Security," said Harrison. "While each state provides its own Soldiers and Airmen for the mission, this deployment is federally funded and part of a larger effort within the Department of Homeland Security to hire more agents and enhance security at our southwest border."