Sen. Morrell Introduces Legislation to Withdraw Louisiana Troops from Border

Sen. Morrell Introduces Legislation to Recall Louisiana Troops from Border in Response to “Ongoing Crisis” with Migrant ChildrenIn response to the inhumane, un-American practice of separating children from their parents who were detained as they attempted to enter the U.S. illegally, State Senator Jean Paul Morrell (D - New Orleans) introduced Senate Resolution 9 requesting the Governor “recall troops and other assets of the Louisiana National Guard from the United States-Mexico border until all children separated from their families at the border pursuant to the zero-tolerance memorandum are reunited with their families and the practice of systematically separating children from their families ceases.”“As a parent, I couldn’t imagine trying to take your children out of harms way – gang violence, civil unrest – to seek asylum in the U.S., only to have them torn from you when you arrived,” Sen. Morrell told the Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs today.Though President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday ending his administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents, Morrell said he decided to file the resolution because of the questionable standing of the executive order, and more importantly, because the order does not address the 2,300 children already taken from their families.“We’ve heard the outcry from our constituents that we have to do something about this. The reality is that, as state legislators, there is little we can do to have an impact on federal policy. The one way we can affect federal policy is through our National Guard,” said Sen. Morrell.The National Guard is a resource that states loan to the federal government, and governors have the power to recall their states’ National Guard forces. In his testimony before the committee, Sen. Morrell cited other state governors who have pulled National Guard troops from the border over the child separation issue.“As state senators, this is what we can do, this is how we can affect policy, this is how we can represent our constituents, families, and churches, and this is how we can express our disapproval,” he said.A complete video of Sen. Morrell's testimony to the Committee is available here: http://senate.la.gov/video/videoarchive.asp?v=senate/2018/06/062218S~G_0