Donald Trump is considering reinstating an obsolete law from 1807, which might lead to upheaval in US cities.
The President remains unwavering in his determination to address crime and what he refers to as an ‘invasion’ of illegal immigrants throughout the country. To achieve this, he is contemplating the revival of historic laws and the deployment of National Guard troops in cities like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
During the summer, Trump suggested he might invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 to stop anti-ICE demonstrations. This act allows the deployment of active duty military personnel to assume federal policing duties.
Currently, he is threatening to reintroduce the act to send federal troops to states governed by Democrats that oppose his intention to deploy military forces on their streets.
Following a military presence in Washington in August, Trump warned Chicago that it would be the next target and indicated that he plans to address other ‘very unsafe places,’ often led by Democratic governors, during a recent speech to military leaders.
Nevertheless, a court recently blocked the deployment of hundreds of National Guard personnel to Oregon. Judge Karin Immergut ruled that minor protests did not warrant the use of federal forces, dismissing Trump’s portrayal of Portland as ‘war-ravaged.’
However, Illinois was not as fortunate. An appeals court decided that federal troops ‘do not need to return to their home states unless further ordered by a court to do so.’
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump hinted at resurrecting the 218-year-old act to bypass opposition, local protests, and any legal challenges.
“We have an Insurrection Act for a reason,” he stated. “If I had to enact it, I’d do that — if people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up.”
This development follows Trump’s emergency declaration at the US border immediately after he took office in January and his revival of the 18th-century ‘Alien Enemies Act’ of 1798, which led to controversial mass deportations.
He then dispatched troops to Los Angeles streets in June to address protests that arose following his aggressive immigration raids.
The President aimed to implement a similar strategy in Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, despite opposition from state and local officials.
Critics argue that this approach is unconstitutional and unnecessary.
Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker criticized the move, calling it a ‘Trump invasion’ and stating that ‘no officials from the federal government’ had consulted him when troops arrived in the city.
“There is no insurrection here,” he reaffirmed. “Donald Trump is using our service members as political props and pawns in his illegal attempt to militarise our nation’s cities.”
Nonetheless, the White House has defended the troop deployments. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt remarked: “It’s a shame that we see in some cities across the country, that their mayors are just simply refusing to co-operate because they don’t like Donald Trump.
“That’s what this boils down to.”
Vice President JD Vance also seemed to support this perspective, stating on NBC on Sunday (October 12): “The president’s looking at all of his options.”
He further commented that the administration is ‘discussing this because crime has gotten out of control in our cities.’