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The governor could change the entire equation by instituting a relatively low cost solution: a bounty.

It is simplicity itself. Offer citizens say, $50 a day and $20 a head to radio report in when they observe suspected illegals in the border area. The citizens are given half a dozen rotating radio frequencies that are monitored, and a five digit daily code identifier.

Then they go out into the desert and are assigned an observation point. When they call in, they use a simple format to describe what they see. And if the suspected illegals are detained, and shown to be illegal, then the observer gets credited an automatic amount to their account.

Even better, observers can work as a group, with some members providing support and others spotting, and they get paid as a group.

There would likely be some requirements, like observers having at least two people on an OP, that one or both be armed, and that they carry or have available to them suitable water, and be certified for desert survival.

But right now, with high unemployment, $50 a day and $20 a head sounds like very good money, especially if you get a high traffic area, but costs just a fraction of the amount a National Guardsman or a uniformed officer costs.

As needed, I could even imagine erecting some armored observation towers, somewhat like the military use in Iraq and Afghanistan, over ground that is more flat. They have a very good field of observation.