Hundreds of National Guard troops deployed along New Mexico's border with Mexico to help control illegal immigration will stay there indefinitely, if Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., has his way, the Albuquerque Journal reported this morning.

Domenici's legislation, introduced Wednesday, is part of a broader package of immigration initiatives put forth by Senate Republicans this week and would block a Bush administration plan to remove the 6,000 National Guard troops deployed all along the border two years ago as part of Operation Jump Start, the Journal said.

The New Mexico deployment peaked at 725 in November 2006 and was cut in half last September as Border Patrol agents became trained and transferred into the region, the Journal reported.

According to broadcast reports on Wednesday, Guard troops would be completely withdrawn in July, although a new influx of Border Patrol agents is not expected until December at the earliest, sparking concerns that the border would be vulnerable to increased smuggling and illegal immigration.

National Guard troops currently stationed on New Mexico's border with Mexico will leave in July, six months earlier than expected, state homeland security officials told KOB-TV.

The original plan called for a National Guard presence on the border until some 6,000 new Border Patrol agents could be properly trained and deployed all along the U.S.-Mexico border, but state officials said that's not likely to happen until December at the earliest, Eyewitness News 4 reported.

State officials tell KOB-TV that the federal government isn't saying what's behind the early withdrawal of Guard troops, but they say the pullout will leave the border vulnerable.

"We'll create a window where the smugglers and the cartels and the border criminals may try and take advantage of," state Homeland Security Director Tim Manning told Eyewitness News 4.

Homeland security officials worry that heavy patrols and new fencing in Arizona and Texas could funnel more illegal immigrants and smugglers into New Mexico, KOB-TV reported. 

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