A new role for the undermanned Border Patrol

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National Guard troops deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border as part of President Bush's plan to free U.S. Border Patrol agents have been assigned bodyguards -- some of the same agents the soldiers were sent to relieve.

Several veteran Border Patrol agents in Arizona told The Washington Times they were issued standing orders to be within five minutes of National Guard troops along the border and that Border Patrol units were pulled from other regions to protect the Guard units -- leaving their own areas short-handed.

The agents, who refer to the assignment as "the nanny patrol," said most of the Guard troops are not allowed to carry loaded weapons, despite a significant increase in border violence directed at Border Patrol agents and other law-enforcement personnel over the past year.

The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), which represents all 10,000 of the agency's nonsupervisory agents, said the presence of more than 6,000 Guard troops on the border has allowed a few hundred agents to be reassigned from administrative to field duties, but that "about the same number are now assigned to guard the National Guard troops."

"Other agents are being assigned to supervise the National Guard troops, who are performing different administrative tasks," said NBPC President T.J. Bonner, a 28-year Border Patrol veteran.

"Overtime has been authorized for these duties, but was not authorized for patrolling the border prior to the arrival of the National Guard."

Nearly 6,200 Guard troops have been deployed along the border from California to Texas as part of "Operation Jump Start," Mr. Bush's $760 million plan to increase the number of Border Patrol agents actually patrolling the 1,951-mile Southwest border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman Mike Friel yesterday said National Guard troops are not at the border in a law-enforcement capacity, but only to report illegal entries to the Border Patrol.

"The Border Patrol's priority mission is to detect, deter and apprehend individuals crossing illegally into the United States," Mr. Friel said.

"It makes sense that agents would be nearby the National Guard members who are there to be our eyes and ears in order to respond immediately and apprehended the illegal aliens."