El Paso leaders decry Trump's deployment of National Guard to US-Mexico border

El Paso area leaders concerned about the deployment of National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border say there are many unanswered questions about the guard’s role in border protection — and the protection of human rights.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered the deployment of National Guard troops to the Mexican border to help stem illegal crossings and drug trafficking.

The move drew immediate criticism from those who say Trump is playing politics with border security and hurting border communities in the process; while others applaud the move for what they call a much-needed crackdown at the border.

MORE: President Trump orders National Guard to the Mexican border

The Commission on Migration of the Diocese of El Paso in a statement denounced the move, calling it “morally irresponsible and dangerously ineffective. It is a hurtful attack on migrants, our welcoming border culture, and our shared values as Americans.”

The commission, formed by El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz last year to support and defend immigrants, in the statement said the militarization of the border is not needed.

“We know that our border has never been more secure,” reads the statement signed by Seitz and commission co-chairs Líly Limón and Dylan Corbett. “We know that it is irresponsible to deploy armed soldiers in our communities.”

MORE: Bishop Seitz stands up for migrants in pastoral letter

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One Thursday, Trump said that he wants to send 2,000 and 4,000 National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border, the Associated Press reported. That would be a lower number of troops than the 6,400 National Guard members that former President George Bush sent to the border between 2006 and 2008.

Trump said his administration is also looking into the associated costs, but has not commented on how long the troops would stay along the border.

More: Trump: 2,000-4,000 National Guard troops needed along US-Mexico border for security

U.S. National Guard contingents in states that border Mexico say they are waiting for guidance from Washington before deploying, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

In a statement, the National Guard in Texas said the deployment is in "very early planning stages." It also said it has "firsthand knowledge of the mission and operating area" that will allow it to move seamlessly into the new role.

The National Guard is more often deployed domestically under the control of state governors for disaster response.

Military perspective

Retired Brig. Gen. Richard Behrenhausen, who was the first commander of what is now known as Joint Task Force North at Fort Bliss, said using the National Guard to secure the nation’s border with Mexico “is easier said than done.”

“It could have an impact, but I don’t know if it will be positive or negative,” Behrenhausen told the El Paso Times on Thursday. “There are a lot of pitfalls when you do that.”

Joint Task Force North provides Department of Defense support to federal law enforcement agencies in their efforts to combat drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations.

Behrenhausen said the president can ask governors to mobilize their guard and use them along the borders of their own states and retain their law-enforcement capabilities. Of course, governors can say “no,” he added. “It can cost money.”

Trump also can federalize the National Guard, but then guardsmen would lose any law-enforcement capabilities, he said.

Behrenhausen questioned whether National Guard members would be armed, and cautioned that doing so creates a risk of having a shooting that could have big consequences.

A 15-year-old Mexican boy was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a rock-throwing incident along the Rio Grande between El Paso and Juárez in 2010. The agent was not indicted after an FBI investigation found he was defending himself, according to court documents.

In another case, a Border Patrol agent is accused of shooting through the Nogales, Ariz., border fence and killing a 16-year-old boy in 2012. The agent was indicted for second degree murder and the trial is now ongoing in Tucson.

Retired Maj. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard, former commanding general at Fort Bliss and the 1st Armored Division, said Trump’s plan is a “knee-jerk reaction” that plays to his political base.

MORE: César Chávez Day should be 'National Border Control Day,' says Texas Republican

“Statistics show that illegal crossings on the border are down. I’m not sure on the timing of this,” said Pittard.

“If you ask people who live along the border, they think they are fine,” said Pittard, who considers El Paso to be his hometown, but is currently living in the Indianapolis area. “It is a knee-jerk reaction to his base of people who don’t live there.”

Technology, CBP agents needed

El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said the National Guard is not needed in the Borderland.

“As mayor of El Paso, the safest city in the United States, we are doing fine,” Margo said. “There may be other parts of the border that need some support, but we don’t.”

Margo said there are more pressing needs in the community, and would not hesitate to discuss them if the deployment includes additional funding to the area.

“I would like technology. I would like dollars for that,” Margo said, adding that he would also like extra funding to open more lanes at the ports of entry to decrease wait times and improve commerce.

Margo said he is anticipating a call with representatives from the governor's office and the White House in the coming days.

El Paso County Judge Ruben Vogt echoed the need for smart technology and more Customs and Border Protection agents at the international bridges to expedite crossings and commerce.

He said militarizing the border won’t solve anything. Instead, he said, “it’s a solution in search of a problem that doesn’t exist.”

Vogt said he believes the order was Trump’s reaction to not having seen any victories in the realm of immigration.

“He’s looking for some kind of win, unfortunately to the detriment of the country, our relationship with Mexico and to the border specifically,” Vogt said.

The renewed emphasis on border security comes less than two weeks after Trump supporters criticized him for signing a spending bill that did not fund the border wall.

“The situation at the border has now reached a point of crisis,” the president’s memo on the National Guard deployment said. “The lawlessness that continues at our southern border is fundamentally incompatible with the safety, security, and sovereignty of the American people.”

More: Border Patrol shooting lawsuit in death of Juárez teen Sergio Hernández Güereca dismissed

Politics, economics

At a campaign stop this week, Sen. Ted Cruz said he generally agrees with the president’s policies.

“I agree on doing whatever is necessary,” the Republican senator told reporters. “I think military force is certainly an appropriate step if it's beyond what the border patrol agents can do. But we need to be marshaling the assets to solve the problem. And most Texans agree, number one, we got to stop illegal immigration.”

Cruz, whose father fled Cuba to come to the United States, said he welcomes legal immigration by those who are “waiting in line, following the rules.”

But more needs to be done to stop illegal immigration, he said.

“We need to build a wall. We need to build physical barriers and fences,” Cruz said. “We need to use technology, fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft and infrared. But most importantly we need boots on the ground.”

Congressman Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, who is looking to unseat Cruz in November, during a campaign stop in Houston on Wednesday shared a story of a 18-year-old rancher who was killed in Redford, Texas, in 1997 by a U.S. Marine sent to patrol the border and watch for drug smugglers.

He said the teenager's death was devastating for his family, the community — and also for the Marine who killed him.

"Why would we ever put him or anyone in that position?" O'Rourke said. "And yet that's precisely what the president is going to do."

O'Rourke said it’s important for Texans to be part of the conversation when it comes to border security and immigration policy, because of the state's unique position on the border.

"We can't just be about stopping the walls or not sending the U.S. military to the border," O'Rourke said. "We also have to be about replacing that with the things we believe and understand ad live and know better than anyone else. We are the defining immigrant story. Why don't we work together to rewrite our immigration laws in our own image?"

Veronica Escobar, the Democratic candidate for the 16th Congressional District seeking to replace O'Rourke, called the order troubling and supporters of it xenophobic.

“It is very, very troubling to say the least,” said Escobar, the former El Paso County judge. “We have seen this happen in the past with past presidents. Whenever it has happened, it’s been wrong regardless of which president has initiated it.”

Escobar said the move is foolhardy and dangerous.

“We have Border Patrol that’s trained to enforce federal immigration law,” she said. “Our net migration is at its lowest historic levels. We have seen a drop in the last decade in undocumented immigration.”

“There is absolutely no reason to send troops to the southern border,” Escobar continued. “The only reason this is happening is because we have a president who wants to appease his xenophobic base.”

Jon Barela, chief executive officer of the Borderplex Alliance, a regional economic development organization based in El Paso, said he's concerned it could further damage relationships with Mexico.

“I would hope this matter, this move, is not linked to the (ongoing) renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement,” Barela said. “The move sends a sign to the Mexican government once again that the United States does not value the bilateral relationship of trade and culture” between the two countries.

“While almost everyone agrees (about) the need for physical security at the border, the president’s action again reinforces the negative stereotype that the border, especially this borderplex region, is a lawless, dangerous frontier," Barela said. "Nothing is further from the truth. El Paso remains one of the safest cities of its size in the entire country.”

More: Mexican president appeals to Trump after barrage of tweets: 'Threatening attitudes' not justified

In a video statement directed to Trump Thursday, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto called on him to negotiate with Mexico in a constructive spirit, saying the challenges between the two neighbors "never justify threatening or disrespectful attitudes between our countries.”

Peña Nieto was responding to Trump’s week-long barrage of tweets and statements blasting everything from U.S. immigration laws, the Mexican government, Democrats, NAFTA and Honduran asylum-seekers.

“The bilateral relationship entails enormous opportunities that should benefit both nations,” Peña Nieto said. “It is an intense and dynamic relationship, which understandably also poses challenges. Nevertheless, these will never justify threatening or disrespectful attitudes between our countries.”

David Burge may be reached at 546-6126; dburge@elpasotimes.com; @dburge1962 onTwitter. Cindy Ramirez may be reached at 546-6151; cramirez@elpasotimes.com; @EPTCindyRamirez on Twitter.

El Paso Times reporters Vic Kolenc, Elida S. Perez, John Moritz and Madlin Mekelburg contributed this report. David Jackson, Doug Stanglin and Alan Gomez of USA TODAY also contributed.