SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
President Trump is increasing his threats to send the National Guard into several major cities, even after a federal judge said that his use of troops in Los Angeles back in June was illegal. The president says he would deploy the Guard to cities that include Chicago, Baltimore and New Orleans for public safety, despite data showing crime down in those cities. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf is in Chicago. Kat, thanks for being with us.
KAT LONSDORF, BYLINE: Hey, good morning.
SIMON: What do we know now whether or not the president's going to deploy the National Guard there?
LONSDORF: Well, Trump has said that will but hasn't been specific about a time frame. Here he is earlier this week at a press conference talking about Chicago.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, we're going in. I didn't say when we're going in. When you lose - look, I have an obligation. This isn't a political thing. I have an obligation.
LONSDORF: You know, since then, an official has confirmed to NPR that the Department of Homeland Security has requested assistance from the Pentagon for immigration and customs enforcement, or ICE, in the Chicago metropolitan area. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. ICE and the National Guard are different. The Guard is part of the military. ICE is federal law enforcement. But in D.C., for example, Trump's deployment of the National Guard came with a larger presence from ICE, too. Trump maintains that the National Guard would be sent here for public safety. You heard him there saying that this wouldn't be a political move. He sees it as an obligation. But generally, the National Guard is not used for policing. They can't make arrests or anything like that. In D.C., they've been patrolling federal property and picking up trash. That sort of thing.
SIMON: Elected officials in Chicago are not in line with this, are they?
LONSDORF: No. Definitely, the Democrats here are not. Here in Chicago, Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat and a big opponent of Trump, has come out strongly against it. In a statement, he said, quote, "none of this is about fighting crime or making Chicago safer." And many other local politicians here, you know, senators, aldermen, have said similar things. Democratic lawmakers in many other cities, Baltimore, for example, have said they plan to push back if Trump follows through with his threats. In Louisiana, though, Republican Governor Jeff Landry says he would welcome the troops if Trump sent them to New Orleans. And, you know, Trump himself has recently made crime an even bigger part of his political agenda, hoping that voters see big city crime as a major problem. And he thinks - he seems to think that his crackdown on it, while mostly performative, will play out well for Republicans in the midterms next year.
SIMON: And what's the latest on the legal challenges?
LONSDORF: Well, earlier this week, a federal judge in California ruled that Trump's deployment of the National Guard there in LA in June violated a federal law that limits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. But that ruling, which the Trump administration can appeal, only applies in California. In D.C., where the National Guard has been deployed for about a month, Trump has the authority to do so because of what's called the Home Rule Act that gives him command of D.C.'s National Guard, but that, too, doesn't apply to these other cities.
You know, I'll note that even in D.C., D.C.'s attorney general still sued the Trump administration on Thursday over that deployment, saying it's illegal. There are times when the National Guard can legally be used in civilian law enforcement, but generally speaking, it has to be requested by each state's governor. Many experts say that what we're seeing here with it being potentially forced on states is uncharted territory, and it'll almost certainly lead to a lot more litigation.
SIMON: NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in Chicago. Kat, thanks so much for being with us.
LONSDORF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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