BUSH TO ASK FOR THOUSANDS OF GUARD TROOPS ALONG BORDER

WASHINGTON - President bush will call for thousands of National Guard
troops to be deployed along the Mexico border in support of patrols aimed
at keeping out illegal immigrants. White House officials said Sunday on the
eve of an Oval Office address announcing the plan.

White House aides worked into the night Sunday to iron out details of the
proposal and allay concerns among lawmakers that using troops to man the
border would further burden an overextended military.

The officials spoke on a condition of anonymity before the address Monday
at 9 p.m. EDT. The officials would not say how many troops Bush wanted to
use, except that it would be in the thousands but less than an estimate of
as many as 10,000 being discussed at the Pentagon.

Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, would not confirm that
using National Guard troops was the plan but said it was one of the options
the president was considering. But he described the same scenario.

"It's not about militarization of the border," Hadley said on CNN's "Late
Edition." "It's about assisting the civilian border patrol in doing their
job, providing intelligence, providing support and training and these sorts
of things."

Bush's National Guard plan is aimed at winning support for broader
immigration reform from conservatives in Congress. Bush's main goal is to
allow foreigners to get temporary work permits to take low-paying jobs an
idea favored by the business community. But many conservatives want a
tougher approach on illegal immigrants trying to sneak into the country.

About 100 National Guard troops are se4rving on the border to assist with
counter-drug operations, heavy equipment support and other functions.

"I think what it would be is simply expanding the kind of thing that has
already been done in the past in order to provide a bit of a stopgap as the
Border Patrol build up their capacity to deal with this challenge," Hadley
said.

Bush gave the same message to Mexican President Vicente Fox, who called
Sunday to express concern about what he called the possibility of a
"militarized" border between the two nations. Bush assured Fox that any
military support would come from the National Guard and not the Army,
according to a news release from Fox's office.

Criticism of the National Guard plan came Sunday from Democrats, but also
an important Republican negotiator in the immigration debate Sen. Chuck
Hagel of Nebraska. He said National Guard troops can not secure the border
over the long term and that he does not think it is wise even in the short
term.

"We've got National Guard members on their second, third and fourth tours
in Iraq," Hagel said. "We have stretched our military as thin as we have
ever seen it in modern times."