Bella Patton, Campus Carrier staff writer
In June and August, following protests in Los Angeles against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and amid President Donald Trump’s state efforts to reduce crime in Washington, D.C., the Trump Administration deployed the National Guard to both cities. The deployment drew criticism from activists and federal officials, who argued the Guard was being used inappropriately against civilian demonstrations.
On June 6, ICE began raids authorized by Trump to detain suspected immigrants without proper documentation. Protests formed near the suspected locations of raids. Things escalated in downtown Los Angeles as citizens began to gather by federal buildings and the U.S. courthouse. According to ABC News, protesters vandalized buildings and threw items at officers. Police officers began using batons and tear gas launchers in response to the protesters. Seeing that, Trump signed a memorandum on June 7 despite the disapproval of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who were against the deployment and use of the National Guard.
The U.S. National Guard is a reserve group that every state possesses. The president can deploy the Guard in cases of crisis such as insurrections, domestic violence, invasions and natural disasters. Governors hold the power to deploy the Guard within their state, and the president holds the ability to bypass the consent of a Governor if he sees one of the noted crises. Trump exercised this power in June in response to the protest from civilians to prevent the damage of federal buildings.
More recently on Aug. 11, Trump issued an executive order that put the local police force in D.C. under national control. Afterwards, a second executive order moved the D.C. Guard into active federal service. Trump claimed to be doing so in order to take control of the crime in the area. D.C. being under federal jurisdiction, gives the president fewer requirements to deploy members. However, reports from the area depict the National Guard not doing much law enforcement, as members have been seen picking up trash and spreading mulch. Michael Bailey, associate professor of political science, spoke about what the guard ended up doing in D.C. and why.
“The reason they were spreading mulch and picking up trash is because there is no crisis for them to address,” Bailey said. “There is not a riot and there is no flood.”
With nothing specific to address but still under federal orders to survey the area, the National Guard finds themselves cleaning. Trump continues to speak of wanting to deploy the National Guard in other cities such as New York City, Chicago and Portland. While the Trump administration does not currently have the National Guard deployed in these three cities, Trump has expressed plans to send in the Guard if issues in these areas continue.
Additionally, the deployment of the National Guard in American cities has faced criticism for being against typical conservative values. The Republican Party normally votes for less government intervention in the daily lives of citizens; however, Trump has bypassed the approval of Governors such as Newsom for National Guard deployments.
“That is a kind of very sharp departure from traditional conservative values,” Bailey said. “I don’t know how you can have a more palpable, obvious kind of expression and display of power than the National Guard Army, which carries weapons during the bidding of a president.”
Furthermore, the recent renaming of the Department of Defense to the Department of War has raised questions about what the Trump Administration is aiming for. The name “Department of War” has not been in use since the United States’ first ‘War Department’ was split in September 1947 into the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. The National Military Establishment was then named the Department of Defense in 1949.
Earlier last Tuesday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled for the second time that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles violated the law, stating the guard performed law enforcement duties that are prohibited for the military. District Judge Charles R. Breyer delayed the implementation of his ruling until Sept. 12, in which time the Trump administration could appeal. Breyer said the guard deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act which for nearly 140 years has been in place to keep the military out of civilian law enforcement. In the past, the National Guard has been used in situations where governors were explicitly refusing to follow national laws.
“Let’s say, if you have open resistance to desegregation, as you had with Eisenhower and Kennedy, well, you might, in order to execute the federal law, have to have a show of force,” Bailey said.
While the National Guard has been used that way in the past, places such as Los Angeles and D.C. do not have state leaders who are explicitly disregarding constitutional law.
As executive power continues to expand with the deployment of the National Guard, many express concern about the precedents this could set for future administrations.
“Once executive power is expanded, it continues to expand,” Sam Call assistant professor of political science said. “We don’t see very many instances where executive power is limited after it’s been expanded.”
Future administrations, Democrat or Republican, could use these same methods and claim they are following precedent set by the current administration.
“I think there is nothing good coming from this,” Bailey said. “Let’s say Democrats get control, now they have a set of precedents of retribution that they can simply say that they’re following through on the earlier president’s precedents.”
Trump’s use of the National Guard, while having been judged illegal by courts in California, still gives future administrations precedent in deploying the National Guard for their means.
As citizens face the future, they have to look at not only their representatives but also their willingness to expand executive power. This expansion not only affects those in these cities, but people all across America.
“Looking at what this means for how power is shared in government and what it means for checks and balances is, I think, what people should look for,” Call said.
While Americans are aware of the complexity of each issue facing the country, keeping up with the implementation of checks and balances is essential to being a well-informed citizen.