Gov. Jan Brewer on March 11 requested that the federal government put 250 additional National Guard soldiers on Arizona’s border with Mexico.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Brewer asked that the soldiers be put on the border under the mandate and control of the Arizona National Guard’s Joint Counter Narco-Terrorism Task Force, which provides support for local law enforcement agencies. If granted, the request would increase the JCNTF to 400 people.
“As you are aware, Arizona and other U.S./Mexico border states continue to be confronted by a number of unique and/or disproportionate costs in the public, nonprofit and business sectors associated with border-related challenges,” Brewer wrote in her letter to Gates. “Our communities are negatively affected by the impacts of illegal drug trade and illegal immigration, and law enforcement agencies in all jurisdictions are stretched way too thin trying to address the enormity of the problems.”
The soldiers requested by Brewer would be paid for with federal funding. In her letter, she wrote that Arizona cannot and should not be forced to cover the costs of sustaining the additional forces. ?