New California Law Aims To Prevent Trump Allies From Deploying Guardsmen Into State

California is making it harder for other states to send National Guard personnel into the Golden State, a decision that comes as part of an effort by Governor Newsom to prevent governors from acting on behalf of President Trump’s immigration enforcement or other requests.SB 1354, which Mr. Newsom signed on Saturday, ordains that other states’ militaries would be barred from entering California without the governor’s explicit permission. The law closes a loophole in Title 32 of the U.S. Code, which allows state guardsmen to conduct federal duties under the authority of the state governor. Theoretically, this would allow governors to send troops to other states without the host governor’s permission.Title 32 is separate from Title 10 of the same code, which allows the U.S. president or secretary of defense to call up the National Guard for the purpose of defending the homeland or for military deployment overseas. In both cases, guard members are treated like active duty military with the same authority, protections, and restrictions as regular service members.“For the last year, Donald Trump has treated the National Guard as his political weapon — deploying troops into American cities and trampling over states’ rights. California has seen enough. I just signed a bill PROHIBITING other state militaries from entering California unless they have explicit permission from the Governor,” Mr. Newsom posted on X.Mr. Newsom said the decision to close the loophole came after Mr. Trump activated the California National Guard in June 2025 to end riots at Los Angeles where protesters had violently demonstrated against federal immigration enforcement officials arresting more than 100 illegal immigrants and holding them at a federal facility in the city. The president’s calling up of 4,100 California guardsmen was implemented under Title 10, however, the Ninth Circuit, which initially supported the president’s request, later rejected its use without the governor’s permission. In a separate but similar case around the same time, the Supreme Court also ruled in favor of Illinois against the Trump administration, saying the president had overstepped his bounds since the guardsmen were not fighting an invasion or rebellion. The decision to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles was the first time the president has activated a state guard without the governor’s permission since 1965. In that case, President Johnson deployed the Alabama National Guard to escort civil rights marchers walking to Selma from Montgomery. Wallace had wanted the guard to be deployed to put down the march. Johnson sent them in to protect them. Under the new California law, the state has authority to provide for certain domestic law-enforcement and public-safety functions that would be restricted for federal military forces. “SB 1354 protects California’s sovereignty by ensuring that military personnel from other states only enter California for appropriate missions and training,” said state Senator Bob Archuleta, who introduced the legislation. “Other states’ military forces should never be used to enforce federal law in California without receiving proper authority.”Despite the stated goal of preserving state authority, some commentators said they feared the law would delay vital assistance in case of emergencies like wildfires, riots, or other natural disasters. Others, including Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton, called its implementation the equivalent of “insurrection.” Opponents of the president speculated that the governor is attempting to get ahead of any attempts by the administration to seize ballots or otherwise interfere with the midterm elections. Separately, Mr. Newsom signed legislation over the weekend to make it a felony to seize ballots, election records, or voting technology before an election is certified.

New California Law Aims To Prevent Trump Allies From Deploying Guardsmen Into State

New California Law Aims To Prevent Trump Allies From Deploying Guardsmen Into State

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