SAN FRANCISCO — California plans to fight back to prevent President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard in San Francisco.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta stated the Golden State would sue the Trump administration immediately “if they illegally” sent the troops to the Bay Area.
“There is no basis to send National Guard troops to San Francisco,” Bonta said in a news release. “No emergency. No rebellion. No invasion. Not even unrest. President Trump has long abandoned any pretenses for the illegal federalization and deployment of California’s National Guard. He does not care about satisfying the conditions of the law; he cares about himself, and he cares about power.”
The statements arrive as Trump increases the military presence in mostly Democratic states — against the wishes of local governors and mayors. In recent weeks, he’s set his target on San Francisco.
Since gaining power, Trump has used the National Guard as a way to curb crime and illegal immigration in specific but mostly Democrat-led U.S. cities.
According to Democracy Docket, Trump has deployed the National Guard and active-duty soldiers to: Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Chicago; Portland, Oregon and Memphis, Tennessee. He has also threatened to send them to other cities, including Baltimore, New York, New Orleans, Oakland, San Francisco and St. Louis.
The Trump administration faces various legal issues related to the troop deployment.
“The notion that the federal government can deploy troops into our cities with no justification grounded in reality, no oversight, no accountability, no respect for state sovereignty — it’s a direct assault on the rule of law,” Gov. Newsom said. “We’re drawing a line: California will always defend the Constitution, our people, and our values from authoritarian overreach.”