The Trump Administration has spent its first eight months testing the limits of executive power by instituting tariffs, deporting illegal immigrants without due process, and seizing control of the budgetary process. President Trump is justifying these incursions by declaring national emergencies requiring executive action. He has declared nine such emergencies since taking office including a “crime emergency.”
On August 8, President Trump declared, “If I think our country’s in danger—and it is in danger in the cities—I can do it.” The President has already sent military troops to Los Angeles, Memphis, and Washington DC, and has threatened to send them to Chicago, New Orleans, and Baltimore.
The question is: why is the President contemplating these incursions into America’s cities? President Trump’s explanation is simple. Crime is out of control in these cities and under the 1807 Insurrection Act and the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, he has the power to send in national guard troops to quell the violence. Critics have pointed out that crime is down in cities such as Chicago, Baltimore, and Memphis so why spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on this initiative? Also, if crime is the President’s concern, why not focus on cities where crime rates are higher such as Little Rock, Arkansas and Birmingham, Alabama?
So, if crime is not the primary focus, what is? One possibility is having the national guard assist ICE agents in rounding up illegal immigrants. President Trump has charged ICE with rounding up at least 1000 illegal immigrants per day. This metric will be difficult to attain in cities where local law enforcement authorities are often reluctant to assist ICE agents. However, the national guard can assist ICE to meet this goal. As example, in Washington DC, over 40% of arrests by national guard troops have been for illegal immigration, not violent crimes, according to a September 10 report by the Associated Press.
A second possibility is distraction from the Jeffery Epstein investigation. Democrats and MAGA followers are demanding the release of the Epstein files. So far, the White House has resisted, but we know from the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, that Trump’s name is mentioned multiple times according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. This does not constitute guilt, but without transparency, it looks like a cover-up. President Trump has always been a master at deflecting and distracting from unwanted news. So why not try to distract the public with national guard incursions?
Some critics contend that use of the national guard in Democratically run cities is not about crime but about control. On August 8, President Trump declared, “I have the right to do anything I want to do. I’m the president of the United States.” President Trump is already using his authority against educational institutions, businesses, the media, and even individual citizens whom he dislikes. So why not target Democratic cities – especially those with Black mayors? These threats prompted Illinois Governor J.D. Pritzker to accuse President Trump of declaring war on American cities and acting like a dictator.
Most worrisome of all is the possibility that the national guard is being used as part of a larger strategy to control the 2026 election. On Friday, September 5, Trump lawyer Cleta Mitchell told Southern Baptist pastor and Newsmax host Tony Perkins that Trump may try to declare that “there is a threat to the national sovereignty of the United States” in order to claim “emergency powers to protect the federal elections going forward.” This would override the Constitution’s clear designation that states alone have control over elections.
In August, Jim Saksa of Democracy Docket explained that through intimidation, harassment, and delays, troops could keep large numbers of voters from casting ballots. The administration might even claim fraud to seize voting machines, as Trump contemplated doing in 2020. Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice said, “He is taking a page from authoritarian rulers around the world who have used crime as an excuse to consolidate power and suppress rights.”
Conservatives brush aside such concerns arguing that Trump’s deployment of troops simply delivers on a campaign promise. They note he ran on a platform of mass deportations and fighting crime in major cities. So, we’re left with the question: is the purpose of national guard incursions deportations and fighting crime or is it about control and authoritarianism? As with many of President Trump’s actions, it’s never entirely clear. One thing is clear however. This issue will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court who will rule whether crime in our cities constitutes a rationale for military incursions.
Tom DeLoe is a resident of Gettysburg and a member of the DFA Healthcare Task Force and the DFA Government Accountability Task Force.