Huntsman backs Guard on the border

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Tuesday he supports President Bush's proposed deployment of National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border but doesn't plan to raise the issue when Mexican President Vicente Fox visits Utah next week.

Bush announced Monday that he plans to send 6,000 troops to secure the border, an effort intended to lessen opposition to his proposed guest worker program aimed at illegal immigrants from Mexico.

"It's a good move," said the governor, who serves as commander in chief of the Guard. "I don't think it would be additive in terms of work assignments. I don't even know yet if any Utah troops would be called into action."

Whether the president's plan will attract more attention to Fox's trip remains to be seen, Huntsman said. Anti-immigration groups had already announced they will protest the Mexican leader's 24-hour Utah visit that begins May 23.

"By the time Fox gets here next week, we may know more definitely where Congress is going," Huntsman said, referring to the ongoing debate over immigration legislation that has pitted the House against the Senate.

"We can't forget that this is a federal issue. The fix is driven by decisionmakers in Washington," the governor said. That means, he said, he won't offer his opinion of Bush's plan unless Fox asks for it.

Huntsman got involved in the immigration issue after meeting with Fox and other leaders in Mexico City last July to pitch an alliance between Mexico and Utah. After immigration kept coming up, the governor pledged to raise the issue with other Western governors.

Earlier this year, the Western Governors' Association adopted a resolution calling for a national immigration policy that includes a call for greater border security. The resolution does not address involving the National Guard.

Huntsman's support for the president's deployment plan is contingent on the federal government reimbursing the states for use of the troops — and using their regular summer deployment period of two or three weeks for the assignment.

"If we were asked, that would be my approach to basically manage our way through the numbers and the costs," Huntsman said, noting some Utah troops are now being sent over that time period to Colombia, Thailand or other countries to aid with drug interdiction.