6,000 Troops to Secure Border

from CNN

Trying to navigate the political minefield of immigration reform in a televised address to the nation Monday night, President Bush called for a "comprehensive" approach to solve "a matter of national importance."

Bush called for the short-term deployment of up to 6,000 National Guard troops in a supporting role along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Guard force Bush proposed would remain under state control, although the federal government is expected to pick up the cost. About 350 Guard troops currently are assigned to the border. Active-duty U.S. troops are barred from domestic law enforcement by a Reconstruction-era law known as Posse Comitatus, but National Guard troops under state control can perform some law enforcement functions.

And he and endorsed a controversial proposal to give illegal immigrants already in the United States a path to work toward eventual citizenship.

Bush made the argument that a guest-worker program is necessary to gain control of the border and relieve pressure from the border. Bush has long championed a guest-worker program that would allow people to enter the United States to fill jobs for which employers can't find enough American workers.