National Guard troops not allowed to apprehend illegal border crossersWhat the hell? Why do we have troops stationed on the border if they can't engage armed hostiles, apprehend illegal border crossers and aren't equipped to do the task anyway? Why don't they have night-vision goggles and the authority to apprehend?
TUCSON, Ariz. - National Guard troops at an observation post near the Mexico border were forced to flee a group of armed people, who later ran into Mexico, authorities said.
The troops, who are not allowed to apprehend illegal border crossers, withdrew safely and no one was injured, said National Guard Sgt. Edward Balaban.
U.S. Border Patrol officials are investigating the 11 p.m. Wednesday incident and trying to determine who the armed people were and why they approached the post near Sasabe, in the desert corridor between Nogales and Lukeville. Balaban said the troops didn’t know how many people were involved because it was so dark.
The National Guard abandoned territory to armed thugs, most likely agents of some narco-boss. That is the bottom line.
This situation must be addressed and the parameters and guidelines the National Guard forces we station on our border must be updated and new policies enacted. The Guard has been stood up at the border as window dressing, to make it look like something is being done; when in reality, they (the politicians) are beholden to business interests that are served just fine by the status quo.
Time for some real accountability, before some druglord puts a bounty on the heads of Guardsmen.
