TROOP DEPLOYMENT CHALLENGED
Trump has repeatedly threatened to send thousands of US troops into Democratic strongholds such as Chicago and Baltimore, which he has branded high-crime zones overrun by undocumented immigrants.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, accused Trump of staging “an invasion” with troop deployments meant to bolster his anti-crime and anti-immigration agenda.
Thousands of National Guard troops and Marines were sent to Los Angeles in June to assist police during unrest tied to immigration sweeps, and to Washington in August. Trump has claimed those deployments improved safety.
But a federal judge on Tuesday ruled that Trump violated the law by using troops in Los Angeles for policing duties, barring the Pentagon from ordering reservists or Marines to carry out arrests, patrols or searches.
Judge Charles Breyer warned that Trump appeared intent on “creating a national police force with the President as its chief”. His injunction takes effect on Sep 12, leaving room for the Supreme Court to intervene.
Source: CNA
