PHOENIX -- National Guard troops from Utah are scheduled to arrive this weekend near the Arizona-Mexico border to work on fences and other projects as part of the Guard's long-standing border efforts.

The troops aren't being sent to the Yuma area as part of President Bush's recent plan to send up to 6,000 National Guard troops to the four southern border states to help federal immigration agents, said Maj. Hank McIntire, a spokesman for the Utah National Guard.

For more than 15 years, the National Guard has provided assistance in anti-drug and other law enforcement efforts at the Arizona border. About 170 National Guard troops are already helping federal and state officers there with communications, fence construction and anti-drug efforts.

Under the president's plan, troops would perform support duties that would free up federal authorities to focus on border security. They wouldn't perform significant law enforcement duties.

The first National Guard troops to be stationed along the Arizona border as part of Bush's plan are expected to deploy sometime between June 6 and June 15.

The first wave of troops to be stationed near the state's border will not come from Arizona. It's not yet known from which state those troops would come.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B7.