California National Guard Banned from Executing Trump’s Orders

Until the border wall is built, the Trump Administration’s plan to curb illegal immigration involves sending troops from the National Guard to patrol the nation’s southern border. This plan relies heavily on the National Guards of border states such as Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and others. So far, most all of these states have agreed to go along with the plan except for one – California.

Initially, California Governor Jerry Brown announced that he would send 400 troops from the California National Guard to the border, earning a rare remark of praise from President Trump. Now, though, it appears that Gov. Brown has rescinded this commitment, deciding that sending the National Guard to the border was an act of immigration enforcement that he could not sign off on.

According to the Associated Press, “California National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Thomas Keegan said last week that the state was awaiting a formal response from the administration and had no additional details beyond the governor’s proposed agreement released last week that includes a ban on immigration enforcement.”

The AP also added that, “The state [California] informed federal officials it will not allow its troops to fix and repair vehicles, operate remotely-controlled surveillance cameras to report suspicious activity to the Border Patrol, operate radios and provide ‘mission support,’ which can include clerical work, buying gas and handling payroll, according to officials with knowledge of the talks who spoke on a condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.”

This brings us to a likely showdown between President Trump and Gov. Brown over who has the ultimate authority to dictate where the National Guard is sent. In most cases, this authority would, in fact, fall to the state’s governor. However, the federal branch of government does possess the ability to control the National Guard if a state of emergency is declared by Congress, the President, or the Secretary of Defense.

Thus far, neither President Trump, James Mattis, nor Congress have declared the illegal immigration crisis a state of emergency, meaning that Gov. Brown does still have the ultimate say as to where the California National Guard is sent, at least for now.

In addition to declaring a state of emergency, President Trump has a second, more drastic option that would enable him to override Gov. Brown’s decision and assume control of the California National Guard – federalizing the California National Guard.

One famous instance of a President federalizing the National Guard took place when the Governor of Arkansas tried to use the National Guard to prevent desegregation from taking place at Little Rock High School. In response, President Eisenhower federalized the entire Arkansas National Guard and assumed command of the entity for the duration of the crisis. Whether Trump would consider such a solution to deal with the present situation is questionable, but it certainly isn’t off the table.

In the current circumstances, many conservatives may have a hard time reconciling their desire for states to maintain control that is beyond federal reach with their desire for the President to successfully enforce our immigration laws. On the one hand, taking drastic measures to hand over a state-held power to the federal government sets a dangerous precedent.

On the other hand, allowing Gov. Brown to undermine President Trump, weaken our borders, and use his office to obstruct the President’s conservative agenda isn’t that easy to stomach either.

Given the willingness of other border states to go along with Trump’s plan, though, it’s likely that President Trump will be able to secure the resources he needs to protect the border without having to rely on the California National Guard at all. Whether or not he chooses to pick a fight with Gov. Brown simply to make a statement is an entirely different matter.

The silver lining at the end of all this is the fact that President Trump is now taking meaningful steps toward securing our southern border and stopping the plague of illegal immigration that has cost our country so dearly. Gov. Brown and others will likely continue to stand in the way of these efforts in every way that they can, but when it’s all said and done, those efforts are likely to fall woefully short.

~ American Liberty Report


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