National guards deployed in us cities

By: Leyah Jackson

National Guard Troops are being sent into American cities in large numbers. Los Angeles, California in June and Washington, D.C, in August were the first two cities President Trump sent the National Guard. 

Soon after, Portland, Oregon, Baltimore, Maryland, and Chicago, Illinois followed. The Trump administration has argued the National Guard is necessary to support ICE personnel, combat crime, and control civil unrest, however they have received pushback from the cities’ officials. 

“Trump is deploying the National Guard in cities that vehemently oppose his policies,” said Phaedra Hyche, a political science major at Hampton University. “He is trying to justify his actions by framing these places as violent.”

Each city is led by a Democrat Mayor, and each has disagreed with Trump’s immigration crackdowns. According to NBC, 500 National Guard members arrived in the Chicago area on October 8th and are to be mobilized for 60 days. 

The Guard arrived despite an ongoing lawsuit from the state of Illinois and city of Chicago challenging their deployment.

In a statement to NBC, U.S. Northern Command said “These forces will protect the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property.”

Days later, Portland, Oregon faced a similar issue after an appeals court ruled to allow the Trump administration to deploy the National Guard. The ruling overturned one of two lower court decisions to block the deployment. Because the second ruling is still intact, the troops cannot be deployed immediately. 

In light of the recent ruling, the Trump administration has filed for the second order to be disregarded or pauses arguing that both lower court orders relied on the same reasoning.

“We are witnessing the executive branch exercise unprecedented levels of authority and control. It erodes the checks and balances system...” said Richard Johnson, Hampton University political science major, criticized the Trump administration’s actions, saying, 

According to NBC, “President Trump made a post on Truth Social that Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson “should be in jail” in an escalation of his conflict with the two Democratic officials.”

The cases are unprecedented, and civilians are waiting to see how they unfold in court as multiple lawsuits have been filed at both the city and state levels.