**UPDATE — The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a late night ruling has allowed President Donald Trump to maintain his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles amid protests over stepped-up immigration enforcement, temporarily pausing a lower court’s ruling blocking the mobilization.
The court’s decision does not mean that the court will ultimately agree with Trump, but it means he will maintain command of the guard for now.**
President Donald Trump’s deployment of the California National Guard to Los Angeles during immigration enforcement actions was ruled illegal by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer on Thursday. The judge granted California Governor Gavin Newsom’s request for a temporary restraining order, stating that President Trump exceeded his statutory authority and violated the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling requires the immediate return of control of the California National Guard to Governor Newsom.
Judge Breyer emphasized that the president did not follow the congressionally mandated procedure for federalizing the National Guard. He noted that the deployment exceeded the scope of Trump’s authority and highlighted the importance of maintaining constitutional limits on presidential power. The decision followed a hearing earlier in the day, where Breyer expressed initial hesitation about issuing relief without evidence of concrete injury. However, he ultimately decided that the president’s actions were unjustified.
In his ruling Breyer said:
“His actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.”
Governor Newsom had filed a lawsuit against President Trump, arguing that the federalization of the National Guard without the governor’s consent violated the Tenth Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act. Newsom warned that the unauthorized use of troops could harm state sovereignty, inflame tensions, and fuel unrest. He argued that the Los Angeles Police Department was capable of handling the protests, and that the situation was exacerbated by the military deployment.
President Trump defended his actions by invoking Title 10 of the U.S. Code, which allows federal use of state National Guard in cases of rebellion. However, the judge disagreed, stating that the law requires such orders to be issued through state governors, a step that was bypassed. The ruling, which takes effect Friday at noon, marks a significant check on presidential power in domestic military deployment.
President Trump immediately appealed the rulling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
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