The United States began deploying the first contingent of National Guard soldiers along part of its border with Mexico on Monday as part of a new crackdown on illegal immigrants.

About 55 members from the Utah National Guard began work near the Arizona city of Yuma, which is the home of the busiest border patrol station in the country.

Members of the Utah National Guard board a cargo plane at the Salt Lake City airport. The guard flew to Yuma, Ariz., to assist in patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border.
(Douglas C. Pizac/Associated Press)

By mid-June, some 300 Guard soldiers from Arizona will be working along the state's part of the border. Eventually, 6,000 troops will be patrolling the entire border.

The Guard members in Arizona will work on building new fences, improving roads and adding to lighting.

They are not expected to perform any significant enforcement duties. Instead, they've been brought in to free up U.S. immigration agents and allow them to focus on enforcement along the border.

This past weekend, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to deploy Guard members from his state along the border.

"They will assist in backup and support roles and the vast majority of our troops will not be armed," Schwarzenegger said.

"I never liked the idea of sending our National Guard troops to the border because that is a federal responsibility," he said adding that the California Guard's role will be limited primarily to truck and road repairs.