Afrasianet - The U.S. Constitution does not provide a peaceful legal or political mechanism for states wishing to secede from the federal state, and the Supreme Court affirmed in 1869 in Texas v. White that "the Union is inseparable, and that the states have no right to secede unilaterally or on their own."
Article IV of the Constitution, in its third section, provides the method and conditions for the admission of new states within the Federation, but does not deal with the method of secession of a state if it so wishes.
Achieving this requires constitutional amendment, a complex process that requires the approval of two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives andthe Senate, and ratification by 3 quarters of the fifty states, which is practically impossible in light of the political polarization that is plaguing American political life.
However, this did not stop the aspiration of some groups in some states for the idea of independence and separation from the American Union, and this was strengthened after Donald Trump was re-elected for a second term, and his adoption of a hard-right agenda, which prompted the renewal of the idea when some elites of California, the largest and most liberal state, to separate from the American Union.
CalExit, for example, aims to put the issue of California secession on the ballot for the upcoming midterm elections in November 2026.
A legacy of hostility
The relationship between Trump and California is characterized by tension and disagreements on various issues, reflecting deep ideological divisions between the federal administration and progressive state Governor Gavin Newsom.
California has long defended climate initiatives, which is radically at odds with the Trump administration, and sharp disagreements over trade and tariffs have recently emerged following the imposition of large-scale tariffs, negatively affecting the state's economy.
"Immigration policies" and "safe havens" are hot-button issues vis-à-vis both sides, with state laws providing safe haven for millions of irregular immigrants and the Trump administration pushing for state police to cooperate with immigration authorities by tightening and enforcing laws.
For his part, President Trump makes no secret of his contempt for California and its progressive values, viewing it as left-socialist, and some University of California experts say Trump may be planning an attack on California that spans from public health and climate to immigration, energy and education.
Trump has the ability to cut funds for important programs for the state to push for changes in California's domestic policy that would support conservative and Republican currents.
Californians recall that during the horrific wildfire crisis that hit the state last weekend and early this year, Trump attacked Democratic governors instead of offering words of condolence and support, blaming them for the fires.
During his second presidential campaign, Trump accused Democrats of destroying California and making San Francisco an unlivable city, and claimed that the state's "crazy" policy caused high inflation , taxes, gas prices and the number of irregular immigrants.
Why California?
This state is the fourth largest global economy, with a GDP last year of nearly $ 4.1 trillion, and is ranked after the United States, China and Germany, and ahead of the rest of the world's economies, including huge countries such as India, Japan, Britain, Canada, France, Italy and Brazil.
The state has a population of close to 40 million, reflecting a unique population diversity, and has a strong and diversified economy that includes key industries such as technology, entertainment, agriculture and manufacturing.
California is home to Silicon Valley, the center of U.S. technological innovation, in addition to providing a huge proportion of U.S. agricultural production, and its ports, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, play a pivotal role in international trade.
Politically, California votes for the Democrats, and in the 2024 election, Trump received only 38% of the vote, and in general, the state remains a stronghold for Democrats and the left, which puts it in direct confrontation and in a sharp conflict with all decisions and positions Trump makes.
Henry Brady, a professor of political science at Berkeley University in the San Francisco area, said Republicans "consider California a monster and must be punished for everything," and although it joined the American Union in 1850, after all these years, a broad stream of the state's population sees California and America drifting too far from each other.
California Legal Tools
During President Trump's first term, California filed more than 120 lawsuits against his administration, challenging policies on immigration, environmental regulations and health care, winning nearly two-thirds of those cases, setting a precedent for its current legal strategies.
Days earlier, California's governor filed a lawsuit to prevent Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs. "No other state will be affected by this more than California," Newsom said. "The lawsuit challenges President Trump's authority to impose sweeping tariffs, which has sparked a global trade war," Newsom said.
The lawsuit argues that Trump's use of the Emergency International Economic Powers Act — to impose 10 percent tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on all imports — is "illegal" as the law enables the president to freeze transactions in response to external threats, which is in place in the current case.
It further argues that enacting such tariffs requires congressional approval, considering that this is the 14th such lawsuit in less than 3 months that California has filed against the Trump administration.
The governor went to court after his White House demand that California exports be exempted from Trump's "retaliatory tariffs" failed.
Other Directions
Marcus Ruiz Evans leads the British-like separatist Caleczet movement that has already succeeded in driving London out of the European Union.
"California's values are very different from American values, and they have been that way for a long time," Evans repeats.
"If it ends up being thrown on the ballot and voters approve it, it won't actually mean California's immediate secession, and that would create a formal commission to study California's feasibility as an independent state."
Beyond the judicial track, only the path of revolution and secession by force remains, but Professor Henry Brady does not believe that California secession can or will happen in the near future. However, he says that "economically, California can be a rich, successful independent state, while it would be very harmful for the United States to lose California."