Mexico Dismissive of U.S. Border Plan

Workers repair a section of the metal border wall that separates Nogales, Mexico, right, with Nogales, Ariz., Wednesday, May 17, 2006, seen from Mexico. The U.S. Senate endorsed a chance at citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants Wednesday but also voted to build 370 miles of triple-layered fencing along the Mexican border in increasingly emotional debate over election-year immigration legislation. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) (Gregory Bull - AP)

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico -- Mexicans dismiss U.S. plans to send National Guard troops to the border as a futile effort that will only fuel the booming drug- and migrant-smuggling industry.

And with heavily armed Mexican soldiers in this violent border city, some worry the U.S. troop buildup could spark confrontations in an area where it is often difficult to tell where Mexico ends and the United States begins.

Gilberto Areola, who lives about 20 feet from the border in the Mexican city of Nogales, near Arizona, said he will feel uneasy with soldiers patrolling the other side.

"It makes me a little scared," said Areola, 54, looking at the walled border as he stood in his doorway. "A stray bullet could affect us since we live so close to the line. I think this could cause more violence."

Tensions in both countries have been rising over increased violence spawned by drug battles, the human-smuggling industry and recent border scuffles.

Blanca Estela Aguilar, a 24-year-old party services saleswoman in Nuevo Laredo, said that with the introduction of National Guard troops she believes clashes between the two sides are likely.

"We are going to see a confrontation between troops over there and police here," she predicted. "It could be in the long or short term, but it will happen. And many people are likely to die."

Ken Roth, executive director of New York-based Human Rights Watch, told reporters in Mexico City that he was "deeply concerned about the idea of militarizing the border."

"Whenever you introduce troops _ and the National Guard are troops _ you risk abuse," he said. "The Bush administration has not been terribly good at giving signals to the military about the proper treatment of people in custody."

While Mexico has stepped up efforts against drug, weapons and people smugglers, it leaves migrants alone; its citizens have the right to walk up to the border, and once they cross they are out of Mexican territory.

In many areas, the border isn't clearly marked, especially in remote stretches of desert from New Mexico to California where many migrants cross.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has estimated that Mexican soldiers cross into the United States about 20 times a year, mostly by accident. Mexican authorities sometimes complain of U.S. officials crossing the line.