President-elect Donald Trump's plan to conduct the "largest deportation operation in American history" is finding a new obstacle as another governor of a state along the southern border rejected a provision he seeks to implement once he takes office.
Concretely, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said she opposed deploying the National Guard to support mass deportations, saying she will reject all policies that she believes would "wreak havoc" on the state.
"We'll use every legal tool at our disposal to challenge mass deportations, and we'll join with other states in doing so because there is strength in numbers," the governor told Newsweek. Federalizing the guard so that we have no one here to deal with natural disasters and other emergencies is untenable," she added.
Lujan Grisham said she is willing to work with federal authorities to address crimes related to immigration. "We want every resource available that assists with investigations, interdictions, and deportations of convicted felons and those who enter our country and engage in criminal activity," she said, adding that resources to work toward that end are "welcomed."
The governor's stance stands in contrast with that of 26 Republican governors, who said this week they would use "state law enforcement or the National Guard" to aid with Trump's deportation efforts.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said the plans require local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE or risk losing state funding. "We will do everything in our power to assist in removing them from our communities," said the Republican Governors Association in a letter. The group said "them" refers to "illegal immigrants who pose a threat to our communities and national security" and "dangerous criminals, gang members, and terrorists."
On Lujan Grisham's side are California officials, who are already taking steps to "Trump-proof" the state ahead of his inauguration. The latest step, taken by the state attorney general last week, prohibits public institutions from cooperating with immigration authorities.
The measure, based on SB-54, which was passed in 2017 and limits the information state institutions and agencies can share with the federal government for immigration enforcement, was reinforced by Rob Bonta.
"Let me be clear, President-elect Trump's immigration agenda is draconian and his rhetoric, xenophobic," Bonta said. "We're issuing updated policies to guide institutions and their staff in complying with California law limiting state and local participation in immigration enforcement activities."
In contrast, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, also a Democrat, is reportedly eyeing an executive order to undo the city's sanctuary status after meeting with Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan.
While details of the meeting remained sparse, Adams acknowledged that New York has "made terrible mistakes in the past" and that, from now on, would not be a "safe haven" for criminals.
The mayor's comments come amid an increasingly hardline stance on immigration in the past few weeks. Besides incorrectly claiming that undocumented immigrants are not entitled to the right of due process under the U.S. Constitution, he also refused to rule out rejoining the Republican Party, dodging a question by Spectrum News by saying the one that is most important to him is the "American party."
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