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with the death of an Arizona rancher on his border property and the killing of three people in Juarez with ties to the U.S. Consulate there.
“We’ve asked for National Guard,” said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. “I’ve been very hesitant to ask for the National Guard in the past, but we are in an emergency. We need manpower, we need help.”
The killings in Mexico are a response of the drug cartels to the pressure from the U.S.-backed military initiative in Mexico, said David Johnson, assistant secretary of state.
U.S. officials also say the number of Border Patrol agents has doubled to 20,000 since 2004.
Meanwhile, members of the Congressional Border Caucus met with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Mexican Secretary of Government Fernando Gomez-Mont to discuss border security.
The House caucus is seeking $450 million in new spending for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to increase Border Patrol agents and Customs officers at the land ports of entry.
Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, caucus chairman, said the meeting was symbolic of the U.S.-Mexico collaboration to defeat the cartels.
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