Oregon Governor Kate Brown said she will refuse any order from President Donald Trump to send Oregon’s guard troops down south to the US-Mexico border, Newsweek reported.
Trump wants National Guard troops sent to the Mexican border as his effort to build an impenetrable wall stalls because his administration is struggling to secure enough funds from Congress or other sources, the news outlet notes.
In a presidential memorandum authorizing the request of deployment of Guards to the border, Trump says U.S. security is “imperiled by a drastic surge of illegal activity,” in particular drug trafficking by gangs and unlawful immigration. However, the Oregon governor disagreed with his request.
“If @realDonaldTrump asks me to deploy Oregon Guard troops to the Mexico border, I’ll say no. As Commander of Oregon’s Guard, I’m deeply troubled by Trump’s plan to militarize our border” tweeted Democratic Governor Brown.
“There’s been no outreach by the President or federal officials, and I have no intention of allowing Oregon’s guard troops to be used to distract from his troubles in Washington,” Brown pointed out.
The National Guard is a reserve force of the U.S. Army, and each state has its own unit of guard troops, which falls under the authority of the governor.
Several other governors welcomed President Trump’s decision, including in Texas, which shares a border with Mexico, Newsweek adds.
“My top priority as governor is ensuring the safety and security of Texans, and securing our southern border has always been essential to that mission. In my time as governor, Texas has maintained a continuous presence of National Guard members along the border, and we’ve added hundreds of permanent Department of Public Safety troopers to the region,” said Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, a Republican.
Abbot also pointed to previous decisions by the Obama and Bush administrations, in 2010 and 2006 respectively, to use National Guard troops to secure the southern border, Newsweek informed.
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