Guard shores up border
Utah unit fortifies fences, widens road.

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (AP) - Military bulldozers, road graders and other heavy equipment rumbled along the Mexican border early yesterday as more than 50 National Guardsmen from Utah became the first unit to get to work under President George W. Bush’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

The soldiers with the 116th Construction Support Equipment Company will hit their work sites by 5:30 a.m. during their two weeks of duty. They will improve a dirt road running parallel to the border, fill in gaps in fortified fencing and run wiring for new lighting to help the Border Patrol spot illegal crossers.

"It’s exciting to do something that’s relevant to the safety of the United States," said Capt. Talon Greeff, the unit’s commander. "There is a sense of excitement when you are doing something real-world."

The goal is to strengthen the border and free up border agents to catch illegal immigrants.

The guardsmen are unarmed and wear hardhats instead of Kevlar helmets - "we do not want to appear as if we’re militarizing the border," Greeff said. They will not perform any law enforcement duties.

The troops arrived Saturday in Yuma and were briefed Sunday on their mission and given tips on how to survive the triple-digit heat of the Arizona desert.

Under Bush’s plan, up to 6,000 National Guardsmen will be sent to the four southern border states. Officials say 300 Guardsmen from Arizona are expected to begin arriving at the state’s border in mid-June.

The Utah unit is working in San Luis, 25 miles south of Yuma, home of the nation’s busiest Border Patrol station. Two sets of barriers run along the border: a 12-foot corrugated metal fence and, about 50 yards to the north, an 8-foot chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. Surveillance cameras are mounted on towers, and stadium lights help agents spot people trying to slip across at night.

Most of the 11 soldiers assigned to operate the heavy equipment have full-time jobs in the construction business in Utah. They would normally be pulling two weeks of training duty at this time of year anyway.

Now they are working to widen the dusty dirt track used by the Border Patrol, compact it and top it with gravel so agents can get to hot spots faster.

"They all feel pretty privileged to be out here as part of the first group," said Sgt. 1st Class James Colledge, a 52-year-old truck driver from West Valley, Utah.

In San Luis, some residents were pleased with the guard’s presence.

Raymond Ruiz, a clerk at Charles and Frank Auto Parts, said the response was long overdue.

"I think we need it because besides illegal people coming across, I know there’s drugs and you never know, maybe some terrorists one of these days," Ruiz said.

Others were leery, worried that legal border crossers would stop shopping.

Alex Furniture employee Israel Escobar said the Guard’s presence "scares the people. No one wants to buy in the U.S."

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