The U.S. government has set aside $1.123 billion to keep the National Guard on the border through September 2007, according to a Guard official. Since President Bush announced the guard's deployment in support of the Border Patrol, at least $225 million has been spent. The National Guard has helped build roads, extend and improve fencing and vehicle barriers, and even man lookout posts, but it does not have the authority to stop and detain illegal entrants. The cost is likely to continue beyond the current fiscal year as the Border Patrol encounters difficulty in finding, training and keeping agents, making...