In his address to the nation on May 15, 2006, President Bush outlined a proposal to send National Guard troops to the southern border. The ACLU has serious concerns with that proposal for the following reasons: * Protecting lives should be one of the government's top priorities. Poorly or even moderately trained troops pose an unacceptable risk to the lives of innocent civilians living near the border. * The military is trained to fight and kill armed combatants, not be a domestic law enforcement agency. Soldiers are not prepared to enforce laws against unarmed, non-violent, border residents, visitors and frequent border-crossers.
* Unnecessary militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border poses grave threats to the lives of the citizens of both nations. * With tempers and tension already high in the region, militarizing the border further escalates the potential for violence and loss of life. In 1997, a peaceful American goat herder named Esequiel Hernandez was shot and killed by a Marine during a drug-interdiction exercise. His death led to a temporary suspension of military patrols near the U.S.-Mexico border and a grand jury investigation into the use of the military in border operations. 18-year old Hernandez's death was the first American civilian killed by U.S. troops since the student massacre at Kent State University in 1970. * It raises the potential for local border town residents being targeted and having their lives disrupted. Hernandez was a U.S citizen and resident of Redford, Texas. Community members were traumatized not only by the death of an innocent civilian, but also because they had been unaware that a training exercise was being conducted in their area. As a result, residents of Redford grew afraid to leave their homes or let their children play outside. * Deploying National Guard troops to the border sends the wrong message to the country and to our neighbors. Militarization of the border will damage racial and international relations. Militarization will contribute to the racial profiling that already threatens the liberties of American citizens and lawful permanent residents living near the border (and throughout the United States). It can be expected that Latinos and non-Caucasian American citizens and lawful permanent residents will be most likely to be stopped or targeted by the increased border enforcement brought about through involvement of the National Guard at the border. * Using our troops to try to create a 2000-mile border blockade is a wasteful and reckless use of our military resources, particularly when National Guard forces are stretched thin due to our Iraqi war effort. * Billions of dollars will be wasted on an operation that will have little or no economic benefit. It will not prevent undocumented immigrants from being smuggled across the Southern border, crossing over the Northern border, or entering by sea or by air. Militarization will only redirect some of the undocumented immigrants toward other points of entry.
* Further strain on our troops actually threatens our national security and our ability to respond to domestic natural disasters -it does not make us safer. Where will America obtain additional National Guard troops to deploy in case of another domestic emergency or foreign conflict? If National Guard troops are deployed at the U.S.-Mexico border, they will not be easily redeployed to assist in case of other urgent needs.
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