National Guard to man U.S.-Mexico border next month

WASHINGTON - National Guard troops will head to the U.S.-Mexico border Aug. 1 for a yearlong deployment to keep a lookout for illegal border crossers and smugglers and help in criminal investigations, federal officials said yesterday.

The troops will be armed, but can use their weapons only to protect themselves, Gen. Craig McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said at a Pentagon news conference. The troops will undergo initial training and be fully deployed by September along the nearly 2,000-mile southern border.

The deployment announcement comes as drug-related violence has escalated in Mexico. Several people were killed over the weekend in a car bombing and in a separate massacre at a private party in Mexico. It also comes as the U.S. debate over illegal immigration has intensified in this election year.

The 1,200 troops will be distributed among four border states, with Arizona getting 524, Texas 250, California 224 and New Mexico 72. Another 130 would be assigned to a national liaison office.

"It will help," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said.- AP