The state of California will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration for “unlawfully” federalizing the state’s national guard and deploying its troops to quell immigration protests, the attorney general Rob Bonta said on Monday.
Previewing the lawsuit, Bonta claimed the Trump administration “trampled” on the states sovereignty by bypassing the governor Gavin Newsom – a move he said was “by definition, illegal” and escalated what began on Friday as scattered protests and erupted into unrest.
“This was not inevitable,” Bonta said of the demonstrations that built over the weekend following immigration raids across Los Angeles, adding: “There was no risk of rebellion, no threat of foreign invasion. No, inability for the federal government to enforce federal laws.”
Newsom has called it “illegal and immoral” for the president to take control of the state’s national guard, and argued that local law enforcement agencies had been managing the situation.
Bonta said his office would file the suit later on Monday.