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Texas Prepares Border 'Surge'

Detainees sleep in a holding cell at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility in Brownsville, Texas. This location has been central to processing the more than 47,000 unaccompanied children who have entered the country illegally since Oct. 1.  (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
Detainees sleep in a holding cell at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility in Brownsville, Texas. This location has been central to processing the more than 47,000 unaccompanied children who have entered the country illegally since Oct. 1. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)

Gov. Rick Perry has signed a plan to spend an extra $1.3 million each week for the rest of the year to bolster efforts to patrol his state’s border with Mexico, as officials on the border report a spike in immigration, especially of unaccompanied children.

Republicans, such as state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, are cheering the idea. But Democratic state Sen. Jose Rodriguez is against what he calls further militarization of the border.

They join Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson to discuss what actions the U.S. should take in this situation.

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