A failed deployment

Gov. withdraw Gavin Newsom most of California’s has announced National his intention Guard to troops from the U.S.-Mexico border. President Trump requested the deployment of California’s troops and those of other border states last year, and then-Gov. Jerry Brown approved the deployment of about 400 troops in April for the purpose of combatting “transnational crime.”

Newsom, who intends to explain his reasoning more thoroughly in Tuesday’s State of the State address, no longer believes Brown’s reasoning applies. “The border ‘emergency’ is a manufactured crisis,” Newsom intends to say in his prepared remarks. “And California will not be part of this political theater.” Newsom intends to reassign 110 troop personnel to support the state’s fire prevention efforts, 100 into conducting intelligence operations against drug cartels, and 150 into another statewide task force to counter drug smuggling. Newsom is absolutely correct that there’s no border crisis. In fact, the number of border crossings has plummeted, and the overall rate of apprehensions for immigrants crossing the border is as low as it’s been since the early 1970s. As for the much-ballyhooed migrant “caravans,” those overwhelmingly consist of men, women, and children fleeing gang and drug-related violence in Central America. They are not undocumented immigrants: By seeking asylum at our border, they are exercising rights that are legal both in this country and globally. The nation’s political context has shifted since Brown approved the troop deployment, as well. Voters issued a strong rebuke to Trump’s policies, including his anti-immigration agenda, in the 2018 midterm elections. Despite the widespread damage of the government shutdown, he’s also failed to persuade Congress to approve border wall funding. Last week, Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico’s Democratic governor, ordered most of her state’s National Guard troops to leave the border — rejecting what she called “the president’s charade of border fearmongering.” Californians overwhelmingly oppose Trump’s immigration policies, especially the border wall. Convincing them of the greater danger of fires and drug smuggling won’t be a hard sell. As Newsom prepares to deliver his first State of the State, he can rest assured that this dramatic action against the Trump administration will be met with public support.