After posting 1,200 National Guard troops at the US-Mexico border to stop crossings of undocumented immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security will draw down those forces by 75% and shift the mission considerably, including expanded use of unmanned aerial surveillance drones.

The President’s remarks on immigration reform, delivered last hour from El Paso, Texas, reflect a return to promises made during the 2008 campaign, with the experience of a Presidency that has focused on border and workplace enforcement and deportations more than building the coalition for reform.

It’s long been understood among the traveling public that Mexico is problematic. Police corruption and endemic kidnapping long were reasons to stay away from sites that were off the beaten path. Now, with the gang warfare that plagues our southern border, those trying to make a living by farming also are leaving.

With relatively few defections from the caucus, House Democrats passed a bill providing $26.1 billion dollars to states for their Medicaid programs and education budgets, by a count of 247-161. All Democrats but 3 supported the bill, and all Republicans but 2 opposed it. The specific tallies will be released shortly.

Earlier, Democrats passed the rule on the bill with more Democratic defections, 229-173.

The House will open for business at 10am EDT, for consideration of the state fiscal aid bill, which the Senate passed last week. The plan is to vote on the rule for the bill, then general debate, followed by a final passage “early in the afternoon.” It’s unclear whether the Republicans will offer a motion to recommit, but we know they are going to put forward a privileged resolution to give themselves a two-month vacation after the elections, lest the House actually work to pass legislation in the lame duck session. That will get a vote today as well.

This dire economic situation in Mexico is a force that will continue to push immigrants across the border now matter how tough we get on our side. People who are desperate enough to walk for days across the hot desert are not going to be deterred by a bigger fence, more border patrols, or laws about racial profiling. Poverty is the lake that is putting so much pressure on the dam, and only by alleviating poverty can we stop the leaks.

Republicans walked away from their own program, Obama said, and that led to a wild west show where states impose their own draconian laws and sanctions. The audience for that passage is the Hispanic community, and it’s a message designed for them to put pressure on Republicans to come back to the fold.