Article snippet: Speaking at the White House Wednesday to follow up on President "The Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security have been directed to work together with our governors to deploy the National Guard to our southwest border, to assist the Border Patrol," Nielsen said. She said the administration hopes the deployment of the National Guard will begin immediately and Trump officials are in touch and coordinating with governors in impacted states. She also said that the U.S. has also been in touch with Mexico about the decision and that Mexicans “understand and respect our national sovereignty.” President George W. Bush in 2006 and President Barack Obama in 2010 also sent thousands of National Guard troops to assist with border operations, primarily in administrative and surveillance roles, in order to free up Customs & Border Protection personnel to focus on enforcement. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders blamed Congressional inaction, explaining that the president is taking action within his power to secure the border. “The president has been talking about it for years, since he started on the campaign trail,” Sanders said. “He wanted to work through Congress. He asked them to do their jobs. He asked them to pass legislation that actually would close loopholes that would secure our border." “He is doing what he can to protect the people of this country and he'll continue to do that and look at different measures that he can do i... Link to the full article to read more