BUSH'S PLAN TO STEM ALIEN TIDE

    President Bush plans to call for troops and a high-tech "virtual" fence to beef up the border with Mexico when he speaks to the nation on immigration Monday night.

    The get-tough approach will be coupled with a renewed push to give illegal aliens a chance to get in line for U.S. citizenship, said a source briefed on the speech.

    "He'll talk about deploying troops, strengthening border control, more raids on companies that hire illegals, a virtual fence, and letting those who are here already get in line," the source said.

    The virtual fence could include lasers and unmanned aerial drones as well as cement barriers, the source said.

    There's growing talk that Bush will call up National Guard units to help police the border. Southern lawmakers pressed Bush political guru Karl Rove to do just that this week.

    Border-state Arizona already has 170 National Guard troops helping to patrol, and Gov. Janet Napolitano's office says military help "is basically what she has been asking for."