A bill introduced this week in the state Legislature aims to keep National Guard troops from other states out of New York.
The bill would bar other states, territories or districts from sending guard troops to New York without approval from the governor, according to the Times Union in Albany. It’s meant to make clear that only New York’s governor can approve the presence of outside guard troops in the state.
“It’s deeply sad that we need to take steps to protect New Yorkers from a potential military invasion by fellow Americans, but this is the dark place Trump has brought us to,” said state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, the bill’s sponsor, according to the Times Union.
The bill comes as President Donald Trump has deployed National Guard troops to multiple cities led by Democrats in recent months. He has sent troops to Los Angeles in response to protests and to Washington, D.C. in response to what he described as high crime.
In support of Trump’s moves, some Republican governors have said they would be willing to send troops from their states to other locations, according to the Times Union. Multiple Republican-led states have actually done so.
Normally, the National Guard reports to the governor of the state or territory where it is located, according to News 10 in Albany. Governors use the troops for a variety of purposes, including everything from security to disaster response.
Guard troops can also be federalized and commanded by the president under certain circumstances.
Trump’s guard deployments this year have faced scrutiny over whether they’re legal and they’ve been challenged in court. Judges have issued some rulings barring them, although some of those rulings have been overturned on appeal.
The new bill in New York would allow the state attorney general to sue for a court order blocking a guard deployment if another state attempted to send troops without authorization. That wouldn’t include cases where the guard has been formally federalized, according to News 10.
States can’t legally prevent that.
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