HomeNewsBriefNational Guard to Stay Longer on Mexico Border
BRIEF

National Guard to Stay Longer on Mexico Border

HUMAN SMUGGLING / 20 JUN 2011 BY JEN SOKATCH EN

The U.S. government has decided to extend the deployment of National Guard troops to the border with Mexico by three months.

Stationed in the border states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, the 1,200 soldiers, who were scheduled to withdraw in June, will continue to assist the Border Patrol in their operations at least until September 30.

The Defense Department has allocated $35 million to fund the deployment.

The use of National Guard troops has helped bring about the arrests of 17,000 additional illegal immigrants, as well as the seizure of 51,000 pounds of marijuana. This comes to six percent of the illegal immigrants and 2.6 percent of marijuana confiscated by the border patrol, according to the Associated Press (AP)

The politically popular move has been criticized. Andrew Selee, director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, told the AP that he doubts the additional deployment will make a significant impact, explaining that “Short-term deployments do little to enhance long-term security concerns.”

High levels of drug violence in north Mexico have led to concern in the U.S. about a possible "spillover effect" bringing the conflict into the southern states of the country.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BELTRAN LEYVA ORG / 12 AUG 2021

Mexico's process of criminal fragmentation has been a slow burn. Many of the country's mightiest criminal groups have been unable…

BOLIVIA / 25 JUL 2022

Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, has gradually become one of South America's main criminal threats, with Chile its latest target.

COVID AND CRIME / 1 SEP 2021

The Mexican government is highlighting a record number of remittances sent back to the country by citizens living in the…

About InSight Crime

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…