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Two more governors have ordered their states’ National Guard troops home from the border in protest of the Trump administration’s policy of ripping children from their parents’ arms. Virginia Democrat Ralph Northam and Maryland Republican Larry Hogan each announced that they were recalling a helicopter and four National Guard members.
“When Virginia deployed these resources to the border, we expected that they would play a role in preventing criminals, drug runners and other threats to our security from crossing into the United States—not supporting a policy of arresting families and separating children from their parents,” Northam said in a statement. Virginia, he continued, is “ready to return and contribute to the real work of keeping our nation safe. But as long as the Trump administration continues to enforce this inhumane policy, Virginia will not devote any resource to border enforcement actions that could actively or tacitly support it.”
Hogan tweeted that “Immigration enforcement efforts should focus on criminals, not separating innocent children from their families,” and “Until this policy of separating children from their families has been rescinded, Maryland will not deploy any National Guard resources to the border.”
Northam and Hogan follow Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s decision to recall National Guard troops, and New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that he would not send troops either. Oregon Democratic Gov. Kate Brown had said she would not participate at the time Trump called for National Guard troops to be deployed to the border.
Which governor will be next to step up?