Excerpt
The 224 California National Guard members are to act as "a visible deterrent … and additional eyes and ears" in the San Diego area, says a spokeswoman. They are part of Obama's effort to bolster security on the border with Mexico.
The contingent of National Guard troops scheduled for deployment next month at the California- Mexico border will be smaller and more narrowly focused than past missions, aiming at front-line deterrence rather than building fences and roads, according to federal officials.
The 224 California National Guard members are part of President Obama's move to bolster enforcement efforts along the entire U.S-Mexico border, first announced in May. Most of the 1,200 National Guard troops heading to the frontier, about 550, are going to Arizona, the major illegal immigration corridor into the U.S.
The California contingent will be posted at strategic areas across San Diego County and will drive U.S. Border Patrol vehicles, using binoculars and night-vision goggles to spot incursions and report them to federal agents, according to Kim Holman, a National Guard spokeswoman.
They will also scan the ocean from coastal outposts to help stem a recent surge of immigrant-laden boats trying to land on area beaches. The troops will be armed, but won't be making arrests of illegal immigrants, she said.
"They're a visible deterrent … and additional eyes and ears in the field," Holman said.
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