Arizona House Votes to Pay for Border Troops

The Arizona House of Representatives voted Monday to require Gov. Janet Napolitano to follow through on her proposal to increase the number of National Guard troops helping crack down on illegal immigration at the state’s border with Mexico.

The lawmakers also agreed to provide $5 million in state money for the plan by the governor, who had asked the Pentagon to pick up the costs and said her ideas for using troops would be impossible without complete federal funding.

Republican state Rep. John Allen of Scottsdale said his state-funding proposal would either let the Democratic governor carry out her plan -- or force her to explain why she did not.

“She planted an idea that she knows the public supports, but she also did it to where she knew she wouldn’t have to do it,” Allen said.

Napolitano spokeswoman Pati Urias declined to comment on Allen’s proposal and criticism. The measure, which was approved 36 to 20, now moves to the state Senate.

Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point on the U.S.-Mexico border, has about 170 National Guard troops stationed at the border to assist federal and state officers with communications, fence construction and anti-drug efforts.

Napolitano wants to add an unspecified number of troops to work at border crossing points, assist with cargo inspection and operate mobile observation points.

Some Republican lawmakers have criticized Napolitano as trying to paper over what they call a weak record on immigration, citing vetoes of bills that the governor said wouldn’t lessen Arizona’s border problems.

Last year, Napolitano signed a law making migrant smuggling a state crime and declared a state of emergency in Arizona’s four border counties, a move that freed up more than $1 million to help authorities confront the problem of illegal crossings.

Public pressure is mounting for state politicians up for re-election to address the issue, even though immigration has long been considered the province of the federal government.

Supporters of Allen’s proposal say the state needs to take action because Arizonans are frustrated with the federal government’s failure to adequately confront illegal immigration.

Opponents say putting troops at the border will not prevent immigrants seeking better paying jobs from sneaking into the country and that the state should crack down on employers who violate federal law by hiring illegal workers.

Democratic Rep. Pete Rios of Hayden, an opponent of the bill, said the federal government had chosen not to stop illegal immigration. “Businesses and corporations on this side of the border are very powerful, and they need that labor in order to make the profits that they are making,” Rios said.