California Governor Orders 400 Guard Troops to Assist Border Patrol

Wall Street Journal

By Alicia A. Caldwell

April 18, 2018

California Governor Orders 400 Guard Troops to Assist Border Patrol

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed an order authorizing 400 state National Guard troops to be deployed as part of President Donald Trump’s order for troops to be sent to the U.S. border with Mexico.

Mr. Brown’s order came after days of discussions with the Trump administration about what role California troops would serve to help the U.S. Border Patrol. The Democratic governor last week said he would send 400 troops but balked at allowing California troops to do jobs that would support immigration enforcement.

“We want to be cooperative,” Mr. Brown said Tuesday during an appearance at the National Press Club in Washington. “There’s been a little bit of back and forth, as you always get with bureaucrats. There’s enough problems at the border and the interface between our countries that California will have plenty to do—and we’re willing to do it.”

Mr. Brown’s order calls for state troops to be used solely to combat transnational crime, including human, drug and weapons smuggling, and not in any efforts to enforce immigration law. The governor’s office said the troops would work along the border and the coasts as well as in the interior of the state.

Earlier this month, Mr. Trump called for as many as 4,000 National Guard troops to be deployed to help the U.S. Border Patrol secure the Mexican border amid what the president described as a crisis. Critics have questioned the need for troops as the federal government has reported the number of people caught crossing the border illegally has fallen to the lowest level since the early 1970s.

The Republican governors of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas were quick to support the move and each pledged to send hundreds of troops to help operate surveillance cameras, do vehicle maintenance and conduct nonenforcement tasks. The troops are prohibited from carrying out law-enforcement duties.

Mr. Trump initially praised California’s participation over twitter, but then criticized his hesitance Tuesday.

Mr. Brown’s office said the federal government would fund the deployment. The order signed Wednesday will be in place until Sept. 30.

Mr. Trump hasn’t specified how long he wants troops at the border. Administration officials have said the deployment would last until the Border Patrol has gained “operational control” of the area, though officials haven’t said what that means.

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