Standing up against the deployment of the National Guard: cities and counties are crucial to holding the line

By Jill Habig, CEO, Public Rights Project

American cities are under siege. Starting with Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and now Memphis, Portland, and Chicago, the Trump administration has been trying to normalize the use of federal military forces for local law enforcement.

From restaurant owners who stare at empty tables to children who go to the grocery store alone so their parents aren’t picked up by ICE, having soldiers in our streets contributes to a climate of intimidation and terror.

I’m further alarmed and disappointed by a Ninth Circuit panel’s decision last week to let the National Guard into Portland. This sets a dangerous precedent for using federalized troops in local policing without justification. The allegations of disorder are impossible to square with facts on the ground. And the Constitution doesn’t give the president unchecked power to deploy the military against our communities. Thankfully, the full Ninth Circuit has stayed the panel’s ruling for now, but this fight is far from over.

In the face of this bullying, local leaders aren’t standing down. We know from our network of city partners that banding together gives others the courage to fight back.

That’s why Public Rights Project and our network are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject these unlawful maneuvers and trust local governments to keep residents safe. We filed an amicus brief opposing the Trump administration’s plan to send more troops into Chicago on behalf of 104 local governments and leaders. Using soldiers to punish political rivals isn’t an acceptable use of power.

Although the Supreme Court has made some terrible decisions, including allowing racial profiling in immigration raids, judges appointed by Democrats and Republicans — including Trump himself — have struck down many of his administration’s lawless actions.

In California, Judge Breyer found the administration’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles violated a federal law that prohibits the use of the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement activities. The courts have reaffirmed that the federal government can’t invent emergencies to run roughshod over rights and ignore the separation of military and policing.

Attorneys from Chicago and Illinois, as well as Portland and Oregon, went to court immediately when the National Guard were sent to these cities. They argued the exceptions under federal law that would allow the White House to deploy soldiers weren’t met. The court is on our side in Chicago. And San Francisco’s mayor successfully headed off a federal deployment through a public show of strength and behind-the-scenes organizing. Many mayors understand that keeping their heads down is no guarantee of protection — and are acting accordingly.

The National Guard deployments and funding pressures are part of the same strategy. The administration is trying to turn every aspect of federal power into a weapon for political extortion and retaliation. Instead of helping cities solve real problems, they’re following a formula: 1) manufacture fake crises; 2) claim emergency powers to solve the fake crises; 3) create or exacerbate real crises by using those emergency powers; and 4) prevent state and local government leaders from solving those real crises by taking away support and funding.

These federal actions show the current administration doesn’t care if Americans are put in harm’s way. They’re withholding funding for essential services such as housing, transit, and health care as well as disaster relief and preparedness. These taxpayer dollars have already been approved by Congress and rightfully belong to communities.

The administration’s plans don’t stop there. The president has also boasted about the federal government taking over elections. That threatens our safety, our livelihoods, and our democracy.

Once again, local governments are standing up for what really keeps us all safe: ensuring communities continue to get critical services and that the National Guard is only deployed in the rare cases when truly needed.

Our collective action outside of the courtroom matters too. The estimated 7 million people who marched in the No Kings Day protests are proof of that. Together, we must ensure the powerful are held accountable and that cities and counties can do their jobs without coercion and interference.