SF threatens legal action against Trump over National Guard
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Members of the Texas National Guard assemble in a southwest suburb of Chicago. Photo: Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
San Francisco will sue if President Trump deploys the National Guard to the city, City Attorney David Chiu said Tuesday.
The big picture: San Francisco joins a growing list of Democrat-led cities pushing back on Trump's plans to deploy federal troops.
Driving the news: Chiu issued the warning after announcing San Francisco would support a coalition of cities and elected leaders backing legal challenges to the federal deployment in Chicago.
What they're saying: "Should President Trump make good on his ridiculous threats to send the military to San Francisco, our city is prepared — and my office is prepared — to take the necessary legal action to defend San Francisco," Chiu said in a statement.
Catch up quick: Chiu's comments follow recent remarks from Trump reiterating his call to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's announcement Monday that ICE agents will be sent to the city.
- Mayor Daniel Lurie said police are equipped to manage public safety and the opioid crisis without federal help.
- "The National Guard does not have the authority to arrest drug dealers — and sending them to San Francisco will do nothing to get fentanyl off the streets or make our city safer," Lurie said in a statement Monday.
The intrigue: The National Guard's mission is to defend the U.S. abroad and assist governors during disasters — not to police cities, retired National Guard Major Gen. Randy Manner told Axios.
- If deployed, the troops would be limited to federal property and protecting on-duty agents — and that could include accompanying ICE during raids but not making arrests, Manner said.
- To deploy troops, Trump must prove ICE can't enforce immigration law without military help, and fighting drug crimes in San Francisco doesn't meet that bar, per Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program.
- "There's no law that authorizes the president to use federal troops for local crime control," she said.
Between the lines: Deployments like those in Chicago and Los Angeles have stoked public fear, reduced trust in local law enforcement and driven down tourism — while costing local governments millions in unreimbursed expenses, Chiu argued, touting the city's near record-low crime rates.
What's next: The Supreme Court will decide whether to block the Chicago deployment, a ruling that could shape whether Trump can send troops to other cities against local objections.