Trump sending National Guard to Chicago will be trickier than D.C. deployment
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Members of the National Guard at Union Station in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 24. Photo: Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu via Getty Images
President Trump doubled down on his threat to send the National Guard to Chicago, but local leaders are voicing doubts about the legality of the move.
The big picture: Trump says he wants to use the military presence in Chicago to fight crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration, but while the home rule laws in Washington, D.C. make it easier to federalize law enforcement, it's unclear if the law supports this in Illinois.
What they're saying: "We're going to take him to court," Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday. "There is no law on the books that allows him to put federalized troops on the streets of Chicago."
- "The whole point of the system of state control of local law enforcement and of state militias is as a check against federal abuse of power," Northwestern University law professor Paul Gowder said.
- "This has been true since the founding of the United States, and the only alteration to this system of divided power was after the Civil War."
Between the lines: Usually, the president and a state's governor are in lockstep to mobilize the National Guard. In this case, Pritzker is against it, but Trump could still federalize state troops without the governor's approval.
Yes, but: The force would be limited to protecting federal assets and federal employees, like ICE agents, unless the president evokes the Insurrection Act of 1807, which allows the commander-in-chief to use those troops to quell insurrection or unrest.
- Trump says he has the right to mobilize because Chicago is a "disaster."
The intrigue: Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel argued on CNN Sunday that Trump's deployment threat isn't about crime, but about supporting anti-immigration efforts in sanctuary cities. In Chicago, a city ordinance prohibits local police from supporting federal immigration operations.
- "Federal control over military power is being abused to support a system of due process-free, snatch-and-grab immigration 'enforcement' against state opposition," Gowder adds.
State of play: The National Guard has been deployed during major moments of civil unrest — but this time, Trump is proposing to activate them preemptively. That's a big shift.
- In 1968, the guard was called in to quell violence — a clash between demonstrators and law enforcement — as protests erupted at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Zoom out: If you were anywhere near the DNC at the United Center last August, you might have seen how a federal troop deployment could play out.
- Chicago police upped the ante with tactical and riot gear, while other federal agents and soldiers secured checkpoints, carrying rifles and other military weaponry.
The other side: Even though violent crime and homicide numbers are sharply falling, serious crime persists in Chicago. There have been several mass shootings this summer, including one that killed four people at a River North nightclub just before the Fourth of July.
The bottom line: It's still unclear what the National Guard can do in Chicago, and so is the reason to bring them here in the first place.
Go deeper: Dems flame Trump's proposed Chicago crackdown
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a quote from Gov. JB Pritzker.