Washington bill targets National Guard role in deportation plans
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Members of the Texas Army National Guard monitor migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border last month. Photo: David Peinado/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Washington state lawmakers are considering a measure that would restrict other states' National Guard units from entering Washington without permission, unless President Trump mobilizes them.
Why it matters: The proposal is intended to stop states from preemptively sending National Guard troops to help carry out Trump's mass deportation plans, the bill's lead sponsor, state Rep. Sharlett Mena (D-Tacoma), told Axios last week.
The fine print: House Bill 1321 wouldn't apply if National Guard members are deployed on Trump's direct orders as part of a call to federal service, Mena said.
- "If he decides to federalize the National Guard, there's really not much we can do about that," Mena said.
- She said the bill is partly in response to recent statements made by Republican governors, 26 of whom said they'd support Trump's deportation plans using "every tool" at their disposal, including the National Guard.
The big picture: Trump has said he wants to deport all immigrants who are living in the U.S. without legal authorization, a pledge that has alarmed immigrant communities and groups that advocate for them.
- That has "raised fears of family separations, detentions, and community destabilization," highlighting "the need for proactive state-level protections to counteract these threats," said Catalina Velasquez, executive director of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, which supports Mena's bill.
What they're saying: In his inaugural address last week, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson urged the Legislature to pass the measure.
- "Texas and Montana have adopted similar policies. Washington must join them," Ferguson said.
- Under Mena's proposal, Washington's governor would have to give advance approval for out-of-state National Guard troops to enter Washington, absent orders from the president.
- "We don't want other states coming to enforce their own values or their own ideologies, or taking matters into their own hands," Mena said.
State of play: Besides Texas and Montana, several other states have similar laws on the books, including Idaho, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Oklahoma and Kansas.
Between the lines: Republicans, who are in the minority in both chambers of Washington's Legislature, told reporters that they have yet to take an in-depth look at Mena's proposal, but aren't necessarily against it.
- "If it really is a mirror image of bills they already have in Texas and Montana, it might be hard to oppose," House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary (R-Auburn) said at a news conference Tuesday.
What's next: A hearing on the bill is expected next week before the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee, which Mena chairs.