In response to the Donald Trump administration federalizing the California National Guard without authorization from Gov. Gavin Newsom and deploying them to Los Angeles over the weekend amid protests against immigration raids, State Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit to secure a declaration that the president’s actions were unlawful and to rescind the order.
The lawsuit was filed Monday, June 9, after an online news conference where Bonta explained that Trump’s signed memorandum deploying 2,000 troops for 60 days went against the wishes of local law enforcement, who were responding to thousands of demonstrators that took to the streets to condemn the multiple raids by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents that took place on June 6.
He asserted that these law enforcement agencies, including the LA Police Department (LAPD) and LA County Sheriff’s Department, were fully resourced and had highly trained officers ready to respond to any situation, including civil unrest.
Bonta said that the protests had mostly dissipated when the first National Guard troops began arriving in LA on Sunday; their presence only further escalated tensions.
“This was not inevitable,” Bonta said. “We’ll never know what might have been had the president left our state and local authorities to continue the important work they were already doing and were more than capable of doing.
“What we do know is what we saw yesterday [Sunday] happened after the president’s unnecessary, counterproductive and, most importantly, unlawful order,” he continued. “An order that abused the federal government’s authority and violated the 10th Amendment.”
The 10th Amendment states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Normally, the president issues orders to federalize the National Guard through the state’s governor. But under Title 10, Section 12406 of the U.S. Code, the president can call National Guard troops into service if there is an invasion, rebellion or the president is unable to enforce U.S. laws with local law enforcement.
The president may also utilize the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces, including the National Guard, to suppress rebellions or enforce federal law if the state is not complying.
The only time in modern history the president has deployed troops under Title 10 was in 1970 under Richard Nixon, when the U.S. Postal Service was down after workers went on strike and the military was sent out to help deliver mail.
But in this instance, none of the conditions were met for Trump to federalize the National Guard, Bonta maintained.
“Let’s be clear, there was no risk of rebellion, no threat of foreign invasion, no inability for the federal government to enforce federal laws,” Bonta said. “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of any healthy democracy – the ability to come together [as a] community, call out injustice, speak truth to power and demand accountability from those in power defines who we are as Americans, defines our history [and] defines what we stand for as a nation.”
He added that the order ignored the expertise of law enforcement and “trampled” over California’s state sovereignty. If Newsom felt the need to deploy the National Guard, Bonta said, he would have done so – just as he did earlier this year during the LA wildfires.
To do so when they weren’t needed “is deeply unfair and disrespectful of their service and sacrifice. It pulls them away from critical work that needs to be done and requires their immediate attention.”
This isn’t the first time a president has bypassed a governor to federalize the National Guard against their wishes. The last time this occurred was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson called on troops to protect civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, despite opposition from then-Gov. George Wallace.
The same day the suit was filed, Trump suggested that his border czar, Tom Homan, should arrest Newsom for challenging his mobilization of the National Guard. When asked about this, Bonta said it’s just “more talk, … more bluster” from an administration that has “frequently, blatantly and brazenly violated the law.” He reaffirmed that California will stand up for the rule of law and that everything that Newsom is doing is in the best interest of the state, its people and its future.
To those still on the streets demonstrating against the ICE raids, Bonta urged them to protest “peacefully, safely and lawfully.” Any opportunists, he said, that try to take advantage of the protests to cause chaos, “We will find you, we will come for you and we will hold you accountable, as those who have been arrested on the ground have already found out.”
On Tuesday, California requested an emergency order to block the deployment of an additional 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines to LA, but it was rejected by a federal judge. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday in a San Francisco federal court for the state’s request.