Judge orders Trump to end National Guard deployment in Los Angeles
President Trump is again in conflict with the courts over the deployment of the National Guard to US cities – cities under a Democrat mayor. The White House has said it may appeal. The judge was critical of the deployment, seeing an attempt to create a national police force.
Washington (dpa/AP) - A US federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to end its deployment of California National Guard troops in Los Angeles and return control of the forces to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
US District Judge Charles R Breyer ruled on Wednesday that the federal government must relinquish control of the National Guard soldiers, but stayed his order until Monday, giving the administration time to appeal before the decision takes effect.
In his ruling, Breyer said the US system of government was designed by the nation's founders to operate through checks and balances. The federal government, he wrote, was instead seeking a "blank check" rather than meaningful oversight.
President Donald Trump mobilized about 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June amid protests against immigration raids, despite objections from local and leaders.
The city became the first of several Democrat-led municipalities where Washington deployed National Guard forces.
According to court documents, only about 100 California National Guard troops remain under federal control in Los Angeles.
Courts elsewhere in the United States are also reviewing the administration's actions.
White House indicates a possible appeal
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson suggested the administration would appeal, saying in a statement that it looked forward to "ultimate victory on the issue."
"President Trump exercised his lawful authority to deploy National Guard troops to support federal officers and assets following violent riots that local leaders like Newscum refused to stop," she said, a pejorative moniker he has used to refer to the Democratic governor.
Breyer rejected the administration's arguments that he could not review extensions of a Guard deployment and that it still needed Guard troops in Los Angeles to carry out federal law, saying the first claim was "shocking" and the second one bordered on "misrepresentation."
Judge cites constitution on checks and balance
"The Founders designed our government to be a system of checks and balances," he wrote. "Defendants, however, make clear that the only check they want is a blank one."
California argued that conditions in Los Angeles had changed since Trump first took command of the troops and deployed them in June following clashes between federal immigration officers and people protesting his stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws.
The Republican administration extended the deployment until February while also trying to use California Guard members in Portland, Oregon as part of its effort to send the military into Democratic-run cities over the objections of mayors and governors. It also sent some California National Guard troops to Illinois.
Judge accuses Trump of seeking to create national police force
In his ruling, Breyer noted attempts to use the state troops elsewhere, accusing the Trump administration of "effectively creating a national police force made up of state troops."
US Justice Department lawyers said the administration still needed Guard members in the Los Angeles area to help protect federal personnel and property.
The call up in June was the first time in decades that a state's national guard was activated without a request from its governor and marked a significant escalation in the administration's efforts to carry out its mass deportation policy. The troops were stationed outside a federal detention centre in downtown Los Angeles where protesters gathered and later sent on the streets to protect immigration officers as they made arrests.
California sued, arguing that the president was using Guard members as his personal police force in violation of a law limiting the use of the military in domestic affairs. The administration said courts could not second-guess the president's decision that violence during the protests made it impossible for him to execute US laws with regular forces and reflected a rebellion, or danger of rebellion.
Breyer initially issued a temporary restraining order that required the administration to return control of the Guard members to California, but an appeals court panel put that decision on hold.
After a trial, Breyer ruled in September that the deployment violated the law.
Other judges have blocked the administration from deploying National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, and Chicago.
The National Guard is a military reserve force that forms part of the US armed forces. Each state has its own National Guard, which is normally controlled by the state government. In certain circumstances, however, the US president can assume command.
Deploying National Guard troops against the wishes of a state governor, is a highly unusual assertion of federal power. No US president had taken such a step since 1965.