In one of Donald Trump’s most divisive decisions, the President has sent troops from the National Guard to occupy some of the nation’s biggest cities, including Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. This deployment of National Guard troops has been extremely controversial due to glaring legal issues surrounding the decisions and political backlash from members of both sides of American politics.
The first deployment came to Los Angeles in June as a response to the large anti-ICE protests that were happening in the state. In this initial deployment, Trump sent 400 National Guard members and 700 Marines to the city despite California Governor Gavin Newsom explicitly rejecting the president’s decision. This sentiment remained the same in other cities, as Memphis’s mayor, Paul Young, opposed the occupation, and a poll from Washington, D.C. revealed that over 80% of citizens are against the occupation. In the August deployment to Washington, D.C, Trump stated that the city had a miracle reduction in crime after a murderless week, but statistics show that this week, although unusual, was not a shock, as crime in the capital has been steadily lowering in the last 30 years. Troops in Memphis were originally deployed in September, but on Oct. 1, the government sent even more troops, against the state’s wishes.
Donald Trump’s decisions to deploy National Guard members to cities have had a variety of legal issues, too, particularly surrounding the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits federal military personnel from enforcing law in states. On Sep. 2, District Judge Charles Breyer ruled the government was violating this law by deploying troops to states in an attempt to maintain law. Another potential issue regards the Third Amendment, which prohibits forced housing of soldiers in civilian homes, and this may become an issue as there is no indicator of how long these troops will be stationed, and eventually, they will need housing.
Trump’s decision to send troops to cities to enforce the law has been unprecedented, and with cities like Portland and New York City being put next in line, there will be many stories to come regarding the President’s encroachment on citizens’ and states’ rights.
