Donald Trump He said on Saturday that he Publishing 2000 California National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles to respond to immigration protests, to the California Governor’s objections, Gavin New No..
Here are some things to know about when and how the president can spread forces on the American soil.
Laws are a little mysterious
In general, federal military forces are not allowed to conduct duties to enforce the civil law against American citizens except in times of emergency.
War Law in the eighteenth century is called the rebellion law is the main legal mechanism that the president can use to activate the military or national guards during times of rebellion or unrest. But Trump did not call for the rebellion law on Saturday.
Instead, he relied on a similar federal law that allows the president to establish the National Guard forces under certain circumstances.
The National Guard is a hybrid entity that serves federal and state interests. Often, it works under the leadership and control of the state, using state financing. Sometimes, the National Guard forces will be appointed by their mandate to serve federal missions, survival under the leadership of the state, but using federal financing.
The law in which the Trump Declaration cited puts the National Guard forces under the federal leadership. The law says that this can be done under three circumstances: when the United States is invaded or at risk of invasion; When there is a rebellion or risk of rebellion against the authority of the US government; Or when the president is unable to “implement the laws of the United States”, with regular forces.
But the law also says that the orders of these purposes “are issued through state rulers.” It is not immediately clear whether the president can revitalize the National Guard forces without the ruler of that state.
The role of the National Guard will be limited
Trump’s advertisement says that the National Guard forces will play a supportive role by protecting American immigration officers while they are law, instead of the forces performing law enforcement.
Steve Vladik, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, who specializes in the law of military justice and national security, says that the National Guard forces cannot legally engage in regular law enforcement activities unless Trump calls first for the rebellion law.
Vladic said this step raises the danger that the forces end up using force while filling the role of “protection”. He wrote on his website, this step could also be an introduction to other most aggressive forces on the road.
“There is nothing that will allow these forces to do so, for example, that the ice officers whose protests may not be able to do themselves,” Vladic wrote.
The forces have been mobilized before
The rebellion law and related laws were used during the era of civil rights to protect activists and students who cancel school registration. Dwight Eceenhower has sent air to Little Rock, Arkansas, to protect black high school students after the state governor was activated to remove students.
George Hw Bush used the rebellion law to respond to riots in Los Angeles In 1992, the white police officers who were hit by the black motor driver, Rodney King.
The National Guard forces have been deployed to a variety of emergency situations, including the street epidemic, hurricanes and other natural disasters. But in general, these publishing operations are carried out with the agreements of the rulers of responsive countries.
Trump is ready to use the army on the homeland
In 2020, Trump asked the rulers of several states to deploy the National Guard forces to Washington, DC to suppress the protests that arose after the death of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police officer. Many governors agreed, and forces were sent to the federal province.
At that time, Trump also threatened to summon the rebellion law for the protests after the death of Floyd in Minneapolis – an intervention rarely seen in modern American history. But Defense Minister Mark Esber has declined, saying that the law should be called “only in the most urgent and cheap situations.”
Trump did not call for the rebellion law during his first term.
But during his second term campaign, he suggested that this change. Trump told an audience in Iowa in 2023 that he was prevented from using the army to suppress violence in cities and countries during his first term, and said that if the case appeared again in his next term: “I am not waiting.”
Trump also promised to deploy the National Guard to help implement the migration enforcement targets, and his great advisor, Stephen Miller, explained how this will be implemented: The sympathetic Republicans will send forces to the nearby states that refused to participate.
After Trump announced that he was studying the National Guard forces on Saturday, Defense Minister Beit Higseth said that other measures could follow.
HegSeth wrote on the social media platform X that the active marine infantry in Camp Pendleton was at a state of high alert and “violence continues.”
