The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of President Donald Trump, supporting the decision to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops during large-scale protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles. This ruling comes in the wake of a lawsuit filed by California Governor Gavin Newsom challenging the legality of the troop deployment.
The appeals court concluded that the president likely acted within his lawful authority under federal law, which permits the federalization of the National Guard when it is necessary to enforce the laws of the United States. In their decision, the judges explained that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's communication with the California National Guard's Adjutant General met the legal requirements for issuing federalization orders, thus allowing the deployment to proceed.
This decision effectively blocks a prior ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer, who had stated that Trump's actions were illegal as they exceeded his statutory authority and infringed upon the Tenth Amendment. Breyer demanded that control of the California National Guard be returned to the state's governor immediately. In response to Breyer’s judgment, the Trump administration quickly filed an appeal, prompting the appeals court to pause the implementation of Breyer's order right after it was issued.
During hearings before Judge Breyer, arguments were presented regarding the implications of this deployment on executive power. An attorney representing California expressed concerns about a dangerous expansion of authority by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Trump's legal counsel defended the deployment as a rightful exercise of the president’s responsibilities as commander-in-chief, maintaining that the necessary channels of communication were followed. In an illustrative moment during the proceedings, Breyer noted that a government without checks and balances could resemble the monarchical rule opposed by the founding American revolutionaries, emphasizing the importance of constitutional governance.
5 Comments
Eric Cartman
The Ninth Circuit made the right call. The legal arguments against the deployment were weak.
Manolo Noriega
This is about protecting federal agents and upholding the law. The protests were getting out of hand anyway.
Facilitator
The media will twist the narrative, but this reinforces that the president is our leader.
Habibi
The judges are clearly biased. How can they possibly find this legal? Where are our constitutional protections?
Muchacho
These judges are doing their job, unlike Breyer. The federal government does not need orders from individual states.