As I write this, multiple news outlets have reported that
the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is preparing to deploy
its Special Response Teams to five major U.S. cities, including Chicago, in the
very near future.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s chief of staff Cristina
Pacione-Zayas told reporters last week: “There will be tactical teams,
mini-tanks, other tools they use in which they plan to do raids, as we saw in
Los Angeles.”
Last Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary
Kristi Noem explained to reporters in Los Angeles the reasoning behind the
massive federal response to sporadic violent protests against ICE in that city:
“We are not going away,” Noem said. “We are staying here to liberate the
city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and
that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert
into the city.”
In other words, according to Noem, the federal government
intends to “liberate” those Americans from their own duly elected state and
local governments.
Immediately after Secretary Noem said that, California U.S.
Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly dragged out of her media event by federal
police and handcuffed when he identified himself and attempted to address Noem.
This “liberation” argument will undoubtedly be front and
center in Chicago and Illinois if and/or when Noem’s ICE fully deploys into the
city.
Thursday night, a three-judge federal appeals panel put on
hold an order by a district court judge hours earlier that would’ve forced the
federal government to relinquish control over 4,000 National Guard troops
deployed to Los Angeles.
Federal law (10 USC 12406) allows the president to
federalize state national guards whenever he is “unable with the regular forces
to execute the laws of the United States.”
A hearing was scheduled on the lower court ruling, but it’s
possible, perhaps even probable that we can expect the same attempt at
federalizing our Illinois National Guard troops.
Gov. JB Pritzker said during a congressional committee
hearing last Thursday that he would “stand in the way” of Trump border adviser
Tom Homan, “going after people who don’t deserve to be frightened in their
communities, who don’t deserve to be threatened, terrorized. I would rather
that he came and arrested me than do that to the people of my state.”
But there may not be a whole lot the governor can do when
push literally comes to shove.
And not just this governor.
Because of ICE’s heightened presence in California, the
National Guard issue and even the deployment of U.S. Marines, Gov. Gavin Newsom
is the first line of defense for sanctuary states like Illinois, New York,
etc.
Newsom filed the lawsuit to stop the federalizing of
National Guard troops in his state. The governor and the Los Angeles mayor
have both claimed that sending in the National Guard has inflamed the local
situation. But, if President Donald Trump can maneuver himself into
anything which he can convince himself is a “win,” then this tactic will surely
continue.
“They don’t get (that governing is) not like the black and
white of campaigning” said one person close to Pritzker about the Trump White
House. “They are living on election night. And now they are creating
a whole lot of chaos and lighting themselves on fire on an issue they had an advantage
on.”
But, holding out hope that Newsom will be an effective
firewall against this expansion of traditional presidential powers has its
perils.
Political writers love writing about the guy, probably
because he’s good-looking and a bit of a showboating goofball. Newsom
makes for great copy and visuals, but his methods aren’t always sound.
Earlier this month, Newsom suggested via social media that
the state could withhold $80 billion in federal payments – equal to the
difference between what the state receives from the federal government and what
its taxpayers send to D.C. It’s a great soundbite, but it simply can’t be
done. State governments don’t give money to the feds, taxpayers do.
“Tweeting is not policy,” explained a Newsom spokesperson
two years ago when his governor tweeted that the state was “done” doing
business with Walgreens after the pharmacy chain announced that it wouldn’t
distribute an abortion pill to customers in states that were trying to block
it. Newsom was forced to back away in the face of reality.
This is the same Democratic governor who fawned over
President Trump after the devastating southern California fires only to be
denied federal help.
He’s the same guy who President Trump said ought to be
arrested last week.
That’s some firewall.
This article appears in Juneteenth 2025.
