Trump Blasts California Over Troops Who Won't Focus On Immigration Enforcement

Elise Foley
Updated
President Donald Trump derided California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Thursday after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen (right) had thanked Brown for agreeing to deploy National Guard troops to the state's border with Mexico. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump derided California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Thursday after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen (right) had thanked Brown for agreeing to deploy National Guard troops to the state's border with Mexico. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump attacked California on Thursday for doing what he and his administration asked it to do: agreeing to deploy state National Guard members to help the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.

The president tweeted that California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) had agreed to send the troops to the border with Mexico “to do nothing.” He was referring to Brown’s commitment on Wednesday to dispatch 400 troops, as ordered by Trump, but with the caveat that they would not conduct immigration enforcement or build a wall. Trump said he wouldn’t fund “Brown’s charade.”

But if Brown’s order constitutes doing “nothing,” Trump would probably be disappointed to hear that National Guard troops being sent to the border by other states are not slated to directly participate in enforcing immigration laws or help build a wall, either.

Government officials told reporters in Washington on Monday that the guard members would be helping CBP in ways that don’t involve direct contact with unauthorized immigrants. They will instead be aiding with aerial surveillance, monitoring cameras, operating and maintaining equipment and other administrative tasks, the officials from CBP, the National Guard and the Department of Defense said.

None would be required to build border wall as of now, the officials said.

The potential deployment in California could be somewhat different. Brown demanded that his state’s troops focus solely on fighting criminal gangs, human trafficking and the smuggling of drugs and firearms. He turned down the administration’s initial terms for deploying the National Guard, Trump administration officials said Monday.

Brown said on Wednesday that the federal government had agreed to fund his plan for the troop deployment, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen tweeted her thanks to the governor that evening. She added that the deal’s final details were still being worked out.

The California National Guard’s tasks will include radio communications, operating surveillance cameras, planning, training, intelligence analysis, paralegal assistance and operating motor transport and heavy equipment, a DHS official said Friday. Those are similar to what other states’ National Guards will do to support CBP as of now.

The White House did not clarify whether Trump supported funding for other National Guard troops who won’t be directly involved with immigration enforcement.

Trump’s criticism of Brown and California comes after months of attacks on the state and its lawmakers over immigration. California is home to the nation’s largest population of undocumented immigrants, and has a so-called “sanctuary” law that limits police cooperation with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, although police do turn individuals over to the federal government in certain instances.

The president ordered the border deployment of National Guard troops earlier this month in response to an uptick in apprehensions at the boundary. Many of those arrested have been families and unaccompanied children seeking asylum or other relief in the U.S.

This article has been updated with details on the California National Guard’s plans to assist Customs and Border Protection.

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April 2015

At an event hosted by Texas Patriots PAC: “Everything’s coming across the border: the illegals, the cars, the whole thing. It’s like a big mess. Blah. It’s like vomit.”
At an event hosted by Texas Patriots PAC: “Everything’s coming across the border: the illegals, the cars, the whole thing. It’s like a big mess. Blah. It’s like vomit.”

June 2015

At a speech announcing his campaign: "When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

August 2015

On NBC's "Meet the Press": “We’re going to keep the families together, we have to keep the families together, but they have to go." 
On NBC's "Meet the Press": “We’re going to keep the families together, we have to keep the families together, but they have to go." 

September 2015

On CBS's "60 Minutes": “We’re rounding ‘em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And they’re going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And, by the way, I know it doesn’t sound nice. But not everything is nice.”
On CBS's "60 Minutes": “We’re rounding ‘em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And they’re going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And, by the way, I know it doesn’t sound nice. But not everything is nice.”

November 2015

On MSNBC's "Morning Joe": “You are going to have a deportation force, and you are going to do it humanely." 
On MSNBC's "Morning Joe": “You are going to have a deportation force, and you are going to do it humanely." 

February 2016

At a GOP primary debate: “We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. They will come back ― some will come back, the best, through a process.”
At a GOP primary debate: “We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. They will come back ― some will come back, the best, through a process.”

March 2016

At a press conference when asked if he would consider allowing undocumented immigrants to stay: "We either have a country or we don’t. We either have a country or we don’t. We have borders or we don’t have borders. And at this moment, the answer is absolutely not.”
At a press conference when asked if he would consider allowing undocumented immigrants to stay: "We either have a country or we don’t. We either have a country or we don’t. We have borders or we don’t have borders. And at this moment, the answer is absolutely not.”

April 2016

At an event hosted by NBC's "Today Show": “They’re going to go, and we’re going to create a path where we can get them into this country legally, OK? But it has to be done legally. ... They’re going to go, and then come back and come back legally.”
At an event hosted by NBC's "Today Show": “They’re going to go, and we’re going to create a path where we can get them into this country legally, OK? But it has to be done legally. ... They’re going to go, and then come back and come back legally.”

July 2016

At the Republican National Convention: "Tonight, I want every American whose demands for immigration security have been denied ― and every politician who has denied them ― to listen very closely to the words I am about to say. On January 21st of 2017, the day after I take the oath of office, Americans will finally wake up in a country where the laws of the United States are enforced."

September 2016

At a rally: “Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we don’t have a country.”
At a rally: “Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we don’t have a country.”

September 2016

On "The Dr. Oz Show": “Well, under my plan the undocumented or, as you would say, illegal immigrant wouldn’t be in the country. They only come in the country legally.”
On "The Dr. Oz Show": “Well, under my plan the undocumented or, as you would say, illegal immigrant wouldn’t be in the country. They only come in the country legally.”

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.