Link: White House Announces Plan to Send National Guard to the Border
Summary: The White House will be sending National Guard troops to the border to help assist the border patrol already there. This has been done before, both by Obama and Bush. The move has been temporary and been appreciated by southern Governors, but it was costly for Obama - it cost over 6,000$ for each person the Guard helped apprehend. The NG will act as support as it has in the past, without the permission to arrest anyone at the border. Exact details such as duration and number of deployed troops was withheld by the White House.
Analysis: This move by the White House comes after repeated failures from the Trump administration to achieve its border patrol policy goals, especially the construction of the wall, which neither Congress nor the Mexican government will pay for (and neither will the Defense Department, despite Trump asking, mostly because that would be... well... illegal, but of course Donald doesn't know that).
I don't think this is a huge deal, as it has been done before by Presidents, and while the omission of details might be unsettling to some, it seems routine of the government by this point to try and operate as close to secret as possible. This draws back to last semester, specifically to the Presidents role as Commander in Chief, meaning he can make deployments such as this without Congress writing off. This is one way Trump is trying to crack down on illegal immigration as promised, even though he is experiencing some success already, as crossings are at a low. I also think, however, that this move - while not major - is unnecessary, given the success in protecting our border seen now, and it will just end up as inefficient allocation of recourses (as it kind of was during Obama's years).
Questions:
1. Do you think this is a necessary allocation of the National Guard?
2. What do you think of the current border situation? Are you happy with current low crossing rates, and do you attribute this to Trump's initiatives?
8 comments:
It pretty clearly a political move. It's not going to have much of a substantive difference on immigration, but it plays to his base and continues to show his utter contempt for immigrants, which are basically the only two things he ever does. So I'm not surprised.
This entire project seems like a huge waste of money! He's already trying to construct this giant wall, which it seems that no one is going to pay for, and now he's sending the national guard to assist the patrol there. At least when President Obama made this move he was going for appeasement, Trump's making this look like over-kill. I agree with what Michael said, this isn't going to have much of a difference on immigration and this is Trump just making his overstated statements.
I agree with the above comments that this particular plan is a waste of resources and money. I think that President Trump may have to consider other methods for enforcing his border security goals. His wall cannot be implemented efficiently or quickly, and there may be no way to reach that perfect border security situation.
I believe that this move was more of a political statement than a true attempt to deter illegal immigrants. Trump wants to demonstrate his power and enforce his absurd beliefs of the intolerable immigrant.
I agree with the prior comments that this is more of a political move. Trump wants to show his Republican supporter base that he has been active towards achieving his goals, in order to have more success for the Republican party in the 2018 midterm elections. Nevertheless, the real efficacy of these National Guard troops will depend on their task. Will they be helping Homeland Security detect drug cartels. Will they be watching for fugitives that attempt to climb over the wall? Since so many of these vital details are shrouded in shadow from public conscience, this appears as another one of Trump's classic moves- making bold claims without much real substantive action behind them to support it.
Of course this is a political move; most things all presidents do are for politics, so it doesn't really make sense that people are saying this in a bad way. However, I wonder about the actual effectiveness of this move, because the White House refuses to reveal how or why this move was made. I'm curious if Trump will bring this up in later speeches or the upcoming midterm or whatever as a reference to the steps he's taking against illegal immigration or whatnot.
I agree with you, Gabriel. I understand that the government is just trying to do its job in strictly securing the border but I don’t think this will really change anything, overall it’s kind of unnecessary. As for the current border situation, I think low crossing rates are not due to Trump’s formal policies and initiatives but more so due to the fear he has instilled throughout the immigrant population in the country. I, as a daughter to former immigrant parents, witness the fear and anxiety which my family and friends/relatives feel day to day. It’s horrifying and absolutely heartbreaking. Friends, family, and coworkers often tell me they are scared to even leave their homes, sometimes even fearful of coming to work. Immigration is a touchy subject but needs to be openly talked about… immigrants are also human.
I think this is an unnecessary allocation of resources. If people really want in the US, they will always find a way in. This is just Trump showing off his message. I am indifferent to the rate of entrance of illegal immigrants, but yes I think Trump does have a play in this in the long run.
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