Bush considers troops on porous Mexican border

NEW YORK - President Bush was to use a televised address today to lay out plans to crack down on illegal immigration that may include deploying troops to the border with Mexico.
By focusing on border security, the White House hopes to apply pressure on the US Senate finally to approve sweeping new legislation that aims at once to reduce illegal immigration, while also giving undocumented workers already in the country a chance to attain citizenship.

Millions of immigrants have staged large protest marches in recent weeks, enraged by a much harsher version of the legislation in the House of Representatives that would increase penalties on those illegally in the country and make it a crime to employ them.

Any deployment is likely first to involve the National Guard, usually under the control of individual states. However, with the National Guard already very stretched, including in Iraq, some governors may oppose such a step. Already the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has said that guard members returning from Iraq should be able to return to civilian life rather than manning America's borders.

- INDEPENDENT