Border agents to thin

IMPERIAL BEACH BORDER PATROL STATION — California National Guard troops man a darkened room filled with flat-screen computer monitors that looks like the control room of a television studio.

The screens, part of a high-tech remote imaging system, monitor miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. It takes little more than a minute for troops to spot potential fence jumpers and notify Border Patrol agents, who speed to the exact spot in their green-and-white SUVs.

California National Troops have manned the station for nearly two years, but their mission at the border will end July 1 when its federal funding runs out, leaving the Border Patrol understaffed.

Assemblyman Van Tran toured the Guard’s Border Patrol operations Thursday and was dismayed to find the Border Patrol will need about 3,000 more agents to replace the National Guard troops who will begin leaving in June.

“What will you do when the National Guard’s mission here is over?” Tran asked during his tour of the remote imaging center at the Border Patrol station Thursday.

“Good question,” answered Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Gregg Bruce, who has worked at the Imperial Beach station since 2006. “We’ll have to pull agents from the line to man the cameras, and I’m sure we’re going to be short every day.”

Gov. Schwarzenegger authorized the deployment of California National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in June 2006 after President Bush asked governors across the region to deploy troops to beef up border security and aid U.S. border agents as part of Operation Jump Start.

About 6,000 National Guard troops deployed the first year of the operation across the Southwestern border of the United States — 1,200 in California alone. National Guard troops were supposed to slowly be replaced by civilian Border Patrol agents. Today there are about 3,000 troops assisting in Border Patrol operations with Operation Jump Start, a little more than 600 in California.

The troops are “the eyes and ears” of the Border Patrol, said Master Sgt. Michael Drake of the California Air National Guard, assisting in security operations and repairing and improving fencing and roads along the border.

The two-year National Guard mission was aimed at providing more border security while U.S. Border Patrol and Customs recruited and trained 6,000 additional agents. Nearly two years later, Border Patrol and Customs has hired and trained about 3,000 new agents, about only half of what is needed to replace the National Guard troops leaving soon, said Lt. Col. Gregory Clark, the commander of the California National Guard’s Southwest border mission.

“It takes 18 months to train a Border Patrol agent,” Clark said. “It’s a huge challenge, keeping them is a huge challenge.”

Clark is unsure what will happen when the California National Guard begins to shut down its operations in June.

“I would refer you to the Border Patrol on that,” Clark said.

There have been rumors of additional federal funding for the project while more civilian border patrol agents are hired, but nothing more.

“We don’t expect more funding,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jose Gomez, who oversees California National Guard troops deployed to the border. “It was a two-year mission, but we are happy to have served here.”

Tran said he plans to draft a letter with other state lawmakers asking federal officials for more border funding, but said little can be done at the state level.

“It takes two to tango,” Tran said. “The state is willing to renew operations; the federal government must step up.”

Schwarzenegger spent two days in Washington D.C. earlier this week in part lobbying for additional funding for Operation Jump Start while more border agents are recruited and trained.

“We cannot afford to jeopardize the safety and security of our fellow Americans by removing personnel prematurely,” the governor wrote in a letter to Bush earlier this month.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.