The Obama administration is asking Congress for money to expand the Border Patrol by 1,000 agents, add scores of other federal law enforcement officers and deploy two more aerial drones as part of heightened security at the Mexican border, says an AP report.

 

The request came in a letter from President Obama to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, asking for $500 million in additional border security spending to go with 1,200 National Guard troops Obama plans to send. The additional Border Patrol agents would give the agency 21,000 agents.

 

Obama is also asking for 160 additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and several teams of antismuggling agents from various agencies.