In a clear move backing President Trump's latest controversial activation of the National Guard in Chicago and Portland, Oklahoma's Attorney General Gentner Drummond is at the forefront of a burgeoning legal alliance. According to an announcement on the Oklahoma Attorney General's website, Drummond, together with over a dozen other attorneys general, has filed amicus briefs rejecting Illinois' bid for a restraining order and endorsing the President's maneuver to send in the troops.
The legal dispute hinges on the use of the National Guard to quell violent protests, particularly those aimed against federal immigration officials, while also framing the debate against the effects of so-called open-border immigration policies over the past four years mounting tensions between these policies and federal enforcement have clearly influenced decisions of numerous state attorneys general, who jointly penned "President Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Illinois and Oregon is not only constitutional, but these are necessary measures to enforce the law and protect the public," Drummond said that it's crucial to draw a line against the increasing violence, as stated by the Oklahoma Attorney General.
This collective legal effort sharply contrasts with the opinions of certain other state officials like Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, who openly condemned Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to dispatch National Guard troops to Illinois in support of Trump’s federal strategy. Stitt's critique in The New York Times was labelled by Drummond as "wholly inappropriate," despite being slammed by Drummond as wrongheaded, as reported by the Oklahoma Attorney General.
Support for the President’s initiative comes from a wide range of states. In the Illinois brief, states like Oklahoma, Iowa, Montana, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri are taking the lead. Meanwhile, states like Kentucky and Ohio support the Ninth Circuit brief. While not nationwide, this shows a broad agreement on law enforcement actions and the National Guard’s role during these tense times, ac per the Oklahoma Attorney General.
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