Sens. McCain and Kyl ask Obama to deploy Guard troops to border

Saying many Arizonans feel they live “in a lawless area of the country and have been abandoned by the federal government,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) have asked President Barack Obama to deploy National Guard troops to the state’s southern border.

Citing the violence of Mexico's drug cartels, the senators said "it is not just the citizens of Mexico who fear for their safety."

"The violence has crossed the border and escalated to a point where many Arizonans do not feel safe within their own homes or on their own property," they wrote in a letter sent Monday to the president. "The violence along the border has greatly escalated since President Bush deployed the National Guard to the border in 2006 and has now taken the lives of innocent Americans."

McCain has toughened his position on border security in the face of a strong primary challenge from former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.). He recently ran a campaign ad calling for completion of the “danged fence” along the border with Mexico – a fence he previously criticized as ineffective.

In 2005, McCain sponsored a bipartisan immigration reform bill that would have stepped up border enforcement but also granted what critics called “amnesty” to the millions of people in the United States illegally.

The request to Obama comes as Mexican President Felipe Calderon is due in Washington this week. He will meet with the president at the White House Wednesday and address Congress Thursday. Calderon is expected to criticize Arizona’s tough new law on illegal immigration, which McCain has endorsed. 

The full text of the McCain-Kyl letter:

"When President Felipe Calderón visits the White House on Wednesday, he will likely share with you the grim details of his valiant fight against the powerful Mexican drug cartels.  At least 22,000 Mexican citizens have been killed since 2006 due to the violent activities of the cartels. 
 
It is not just the citizens of Mexico who fear for their safety.  The violence has crossed the border and escalated to a point where many Arizonans do not feel safe within their own homes or on their own property.  They feel that they live in a lawless area of the country and have been abandoned by the federal government, which has a duty to protect its citizens by securing the nation’s borders.  The violence along the border has greatly escalated since President Bush deployed the National Guard to the border in 2006 and has now taken the lives of innocent Americans.

The governors of Arizona and Texas have requested the deployment of the National Guard, and the governor of New Mexico has deployed his state’s National Guard to the border.  We again urge you to deploy at least 6,000 National Guardsmen to protect our southern border, with 3,000 of these troops focused on the Arizona/Mexico border. 

We believe this would immediately improve the safety of Americans and help secure our border.  As we have detailed to your administration over the last month, we also strongly urge you to work with us to provide funding for our 10-point plan to secure the Arizona-Mexico border.  It would be irresponsible not to do everything we can to stop the escalating violence along the border with Mexico."