CA Governor Orders Guard Troops to Withdraw from Border

California's governor is seeking to withdraw some of the state's National Guard troops from the US-Mexico border. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) says he had wanted to withdraw all troops but will keep some in place after consulting with Guard officials.

Newsom said California Guard troops have been operating cameras and doing other surveillance work that can inadvertently aid in federal immigration enforcement. 

Former California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) agreed to deploy Guard troops last year but ordered the Guard not to engage in immigration activities. 

Newsom called the situation at the border a "manufactured crisis" and says he won't participate. 

"This is pure politics. Period. Full stop. And the rest is just, frankly, just a lot of misdirection," Newsom told reporters. "It's a waste of everybody's time and so we're just not going to participate in it. We're not interested in perpetuating this."

Newsom wants to reassign 250 troops to other drug-related activities as well as wildfire prevention efforts.  

So far, the Trump administration hasn't commented. 

The drawdown of California's troops will begin immediately but may not be completed until March 31, when the state's current agreement with the federal government is set to end.

Meanwhile, Texas and Arizona still have troops on the border, according to The Associated Press.