The decision to deploy 2,000 National Guard soldiers in Los Angeles by US President Donald Trump may have a ‘profound impact’ on disagreement and protests. This deployment was done when federal agencies collided with protesters after immigration raids. On Sunday (June 8), an analyst said this while talking to news agency Reuters. After the protests, there were clashes with some protesters of police and Federal Border Petrol agents, in which tear gas shells were released on protesters.
Daniel Urman, Professor of Law School at Northeastern University, said that Trump has a legal right to deploy national guards in a situation like ‘rebellion’, but usually it is done at the request of the governor, when there is a very large scale unrest. But the protests happening in Los Angeles have not reached this level.
The governor told the ‘provocative’ step
According to Urman, ‘This step seems to be taken ahead of time and it seems that its aim is to suppress the opposition.’ A statement from the White House said that Trump has signed the President’s Memorandum to ‘eliminate that chaos’, which has been allowed to flourish for a long time. However, California governor Gavin Newsam described the decision as ‘deliberate provocative’.
The last time was used in 1992 rebellion law
According to government sources, the administration has not yet used the Insurrection Act. This law of 1807 empowers the US President to deploy army to maintain law and order and suppress home unrest. It was last implemented in 1992 at the request of the Governor of California during the Los Angeles riots.
Balance of power may deteriorate
Professor Urman warned that the deployment of the army without the consent of the state government could deteriorate the strength between the federal and the state governments. He said, “This gives the federal government more rights than the state and local governments, while the Constitution of America talks about the federal system of limited and specified rights.”
People will shy away from raising their voice in future
In addition, under the Posse Comitatus Act, the army in the US is not allowed to use force on citizens, unless the Congress gives special permission or self -defense situation. The concerned concern is that the presence of the army can affect the rights and rights of protests under the first amendment (first amendment).
Urman says, “If the President deploys an army every time there is a protest against him and people are injured or arrested, then it can stop people from opposing again in future.”