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Oregon gov. won't send National Guard troops to Mexico border if Trump asks
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she would not comply with an order to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border if asked. "I'm deeply troubled by Trump's plan to militarize our border," she said. (2015 file photo/Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Oregon gov. won't send National Guard troops to Mexico border if Trump asks

The same day President Donald Trump signed a proclamation ordering National Guard troops to assist with security on the Mexican border, Oregon's governor said she will not allow her state's Guard troops to be used for that initiative.

What did she say?

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, tweeted her refusal to assist with Trump's border security plan Wednesday afternoon.

"If @realDonaldTrump asks me to deploy Oregon Guard troops to the Mexico border, I'll say no," Brown wrote. "As Commander of Oregon's Guard, I'm deeply troubled by Trump's plan to militarize our border.

"There's been no outreach by the president or federal officials, and I have no intention of allowing Oregon's guard troops to be used to distract from his troubles in Washington," she concluded.

The National Guard is under the partial authority of state governors, but troops can be used under presidential authority when serving on federal missions.

According to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the Trump administration has been working with the governors of states along the border to deploy National Guard troops. There is no indication at this time that Oregon Guard troops have or will be utilized.

What's going on at the border?

Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with the security and regulations at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent days, and sent a memo to Defense Secretary James Mattis and Nielsen ordering the use of the National Guard to "stop the flow of deadly drugs and other contraband, gang members and other criminals, and illegal aliens into this country."

Trump wants the military presence to provide increased security at the border until a border wall can be constructed.

Mexico responded to the possibility of U.S. troops at the border with apprehension, Reuters reports, with the Foreign Ministry saying "if the announced deployment of the National Guard turned into a militarization of the border, that would gravely damage the bilateral relationship."

Even without a wall or troops, U.S. Border Patrol reported the lowest number of illegal immigrant arrests at the border since 1971 during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2017.

(H/T The Hill)

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