A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration violated federal law in the use of National Guard troops amid Southern California immigration enforcement operations and accompanying protests.
Judge Charles Breyer found President Donald Trump’s administration violated federal law by sending troops to the Los Angeles area. The judge in San Francisco did not require the remaining troops withdrawn, however. He set his order to go into effect on Friday.
The order comes after California sued. The state said the troops sent to Los Angeles over the summer were violating a law that prohibits military enforcement of domestic laws. Lawyers for the Republican administration have argued the Posse Comitatus Act doesn’t apply because the troops were protecting federal officers not enforcing laws. They say the troops were mobilized under an authority that allows the president to deploy them.
The decision comes as Trump has discussed National Guard deployments in Democratic-led cities like Chicago, Baltimore and New York. He has already deployed the Guard as part of his unprecedented law enforcement takeover in Washington, D.C., where the president has direct legal control.