California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his decision to withdraw National Guard troops from the southern border with Mexico, against Trump’s request for troops from border states, stating that “the border ‘emergency’ is a manufactured crisis and California will not be part of this political theater.”
Currently, California has 360 troops at the southern border at the direction of past governor Jerry Brown. Newsom said he would leave 100 troops at the border that will focus only on fighting transnational crime, such as drugs. The other National Guard troops will be used to support CalFire’s wildfire prevention and protection efforts and the statewide Counterdrug Task Force.
Jerry Brown approved 360 troops to the southern border, at President Trump’s request, under the condition that these troops will not be used for immigration-related purposes. Brown wrote to the Trump administration saying that the troops “will not be a mission to build a new wall. It will not be a mission to round up women and children or detain people escaping violence and seeking a better life. And the California National Guard will not be enforcing federal immigration laws.”
Governor Newsom’s decision comes after New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered most of the New Mexico National Guard to withdraw from the border. Texas and Arizona still have National Guard troops at the border and have not announced plans to rescind their troops.
Media Resources: NPR 2/11/19; USA Today 2/11/19
