The president wants to send 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to help federal authorities combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking. It isn't clear how many he would seek from California. They would provide support but not go on patrols or make arrests. Republican governors in the other border states of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas backed the deployment. Even Iowa's Republican governor offered to send National Guard troops from the Midwest. Democratic governors in Oregon and Montana have said they wouldn't send troops.
The California Guard already has 55 employees helping fight drug trafficking, surveillance in the San Diego Harbor, repairing fences, roads and culverts and analyzing criminal activity in cooperation with state and federal law enforcement agencies.
How had Gov. Brown responded?
Brown has personally spoken with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and other federal officials, but he hasn't publicly commented or made a decision. His office has instead referred questions to a spokesman for the California National Guard, which has said it needs more details.
That's in contrast to Brown's sharp response last month when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions sued to block three California laws to protect immigrants who are in the country illegally, which Brown called "a political stunt."
The National Guard says it can't respond until it has more information, including who would pay for the deployment, how long it would last and what it is expected to accomplish.
Brown's decision might depend on the mission: would California troops be fighting international drug smugglers, or helping block immigrants from crossing the border?
Why is Gov. Brown keeping his powder dry?
He may just be weighing the state's policy and waiting for those answers, says Claremont McKenna College political science professor Jack Pitney. "Trump's plan is pretty vague. It's possible at the end that Trump's request is somewhat reasonable," Pitney says.
"In contrast to his 1970s persona as an eccentric, Jerry Brown is actually a pretty cautious warrior and he's probably just weighing the policy merits of this move."
Are there political considerations?
Yes, on both sides, says San Jose State University political science professor says Larry Gerston. Trump is appealing to his conservative base, he says, not only on immigration but on issues as broad as gay rights and automobile emissions, all touchstones for California's liberal majority. "The list goes on and on and on and so the governor from his perspective has to ask himself 'Why? Why should I be interested in cooperating when I'm getting nothing back from the federal government,'" he said. "So I do think that policy and politics come together here."
What does the White House say?
Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the administration will "absolutely" move forward with other border states if California balks at providing National Guard troops.
"We're working with states' governors right now to go through this process and we hope to have National Guard on the ground as soon as possible," she said Friday. "And we're going to continue to work with California and we're hopeful that they'll do the right thing and help protect our borders."
