White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Photo: Screen grab/C-SPAN)

(CNSNews.com) - President Trump's decision to send National Guard troops to the Southwest border drew a critical tweet from Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who tweeted on Wednesday: "Using the National Guard to do border security is very expensive. For what it would cost the Guard to make just TWO arrests at the border, we could give a homeless veteran permanent housing for an entire year."

A reporter on Wednesday asked White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders to respond:

"I don't think you can put a cost on American life," Sanders said. "The president sees securing the border as a national security issue and protecting Americans.

"If that congressman's so concerned, maybe he ought to show up and actually support legislation that would fix these problems instead of blaming the president, who's actually trying to do something about it. We'd like to see him work with us in partnership and actually do something, instead of just complain about it."

Gallego tweeted back to Sanders: "Hey @PressSec - Unlike your boss, I did show up and served my country in the Marines. Now, I show up in Congress to serve my country again and act as a check to some of your boss’s worst plans."

As CNSNews.com reported, the White House is now preparing immigration/border control legislation to send to Congress, and one senior administration official on Wednesday predicted that the issue of border security will be one of the biggest issues facing Congress in the months ahead.