President Trump had initially hoped to build border fences and walls but has been unable to drum up support for this in Congress. He is now attempting to secure the border in other ways, including increasing military presence there. Last week, California Governor Jerry Brown agreed to send 400 National Guard troops to the Mexican border. However, it appears that Brown is already backing out of the deal due to concerns that troops would be used to “round up women and children.”
Gov. Brown was willing to send troops but only on the condition that they not be used for immigration enforcement purposes. This appears to include supporting roles, such as surveillance. It remains unclear what the troops would have done if they were not supporting immigration enforcement.
Brown did indicate that he was willing to use California troops to assist efforts to crack down on drug smugglers, criminal gains, and the like. Problem is, it’s hard to tell drug dealers and non-criminal undocumented immigrants apart. Border Patrol, for its part, goes after both groups. Thus, any efforts to support the Border Patrol would likely also contribute to enforcing federal immigration laws.
April 17, 2018: California in dispute over Trump administration plan for National Guard troops at border. (Credit: Facebook/Patriot News)
The governor’s office, however, is claiming that fault lies with the federal government. Brown is still willing to contribute troops if the federal government will agree to not use them to enforce immigration. The California government sent a proposal to the feds, but Brown says that the federal government has not yet responded.
Apparently, the federal government wanted at least 237 troops to work in two separate areas of California. Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas have all already agreed to contribute troops, leaving California as the only one to refuse to do so. Roughly 900 troops were already on the ground as of Monday: 250 troops were active in Arizona, while about 650 were deployed in Texas, and an additional 60 were positioned in New Mexico.
The governors of New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas are all Republican and have warmly embraced efforts to bolster border security. Jerry Brown, on the other hand, is a Democrat. California is known for having relatively favorable laws and policies towards undocumented immigrants.
Trump has drawn a lot of criticism and praise for deploying troops. Yet Trump is certainly not the first president to deploy troops to the border and indeed the move historically hasn’t been all that controversial. In fact, California participated in troop deployments under both the Bush and Obama administrations.
(Credit: Facebook/The Hardcore American Patriot)
Deploying troops to the border raises a lot of legal dilemmas. The Posse Comitatus Act, a federal statute, limits the government’s ability to use troops to enforce domestic policies within the United States. The Act only officially covers the Army but the Navy also adheres to it. It does not apply to the Army National Guard, and governors can invite National Guard troops to engage in domestic issues. The U.S. Coast Guard is also exempt.
Regardless, soldiers will not be placed on the “front line.” Instead, troops are being used to support the Border Patrol via ancillary duties. By providing support, the government can free-up Border Patrol members, allowing them to focus on border security.
