California governor rebukes Trump in border troop withdrawal

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday he’s withdrawing most of the state’s National Guard troops on the Mexico border because he won’t participate in the Trump administration’s “absurd theatrics” on border security.

Still, he acknowledged some troops were doing good work fighting drug crime and said he plans to allow 100 of the roughly 360 state troops now deployed to keep working with the federal government.

“I’m trying to acknowledge there are some legitimate concerns but I’m not going to play into the hype and the politics,” he told reporters before signing an executive order changing the troops’ mission.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown agreed in April to deploy up to 400 troops to the border in response to a request from the Trump administration made to four border states. Brown made it clear then that California troops couldn’t aid in immigration enforcement, but Newsom said there’s been a “gray area” in their duties.

Maj. Gen. David Baldwin of the California National Guard said the troops have not participated in immigration detention but some are conducting camera surveillance that could inadvertently aid in immigration enforcement.

“This whole thing is the theater of the absurd and California has had enough,” Newsom said.

The Trump administration hasn’t commented.

The drawdown of California’s troops will begin immediately but may not be completed until March 31, when the state’s current agreement with the federal government is set to end.

Newsom has reassigned about 110 of the troops to beef up California’s fire preparation efforts ahead of the next wildfire season and to expand the guard’s counterdrug task force program. The expansion requires approval from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Newsom’s move came on the heels of a decision by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, also a Democrat, to pull back her state’s troops from the border.

Texas and Arizona still have troops on the border.