Guest Opinion: Suzanne York: Trump’s Federalization of the California National Guard is an Authoritarian Power Grab, Not Law Enforcement

What happened this weekend in Los Angeles wasn’t about “law and order.” It was about power. With zero public explanation and no legitimate emergency, Donald Trump unilaterally federalized the California National Guard — an incendiary move that bypasses state authority, stokes division, and dangerously escalates a political dispute into a potential constitutional crisis.

Let’s be clear: This isn’t the 1950’s civil rights movement and Trump is no Eisenhower. Federalizing the National Guard to enforce desegregation protected marginalized children that were in danger from racist mobs. Trump is using it to intimidate cities (and states) that disagree with his hardline, often xenophobic immigration policies- and to punish state and local leaders for refusing to become enforcers of mass deportation.

Defiance in the face of government overreach is not lawlessness — it’ a foundational tenet of democracy. Our system was built on the principle that power must be questioned, challenged and constrained, especially when it threatens civil liberties and the rights of people.

No one in California is raising arms against the U.S. government. What’s happening here is basic democracy: elected leaders like Governor Newsome and Mayor Karen Bass are exercising their legal and moral right to set local policies in line with their communities’ values — including humane, constitutionally grounded approaches to immigration. And the protestors, too, are exercising their right to voice their concerns about how much suffering that the Trump Administration has imposed on so many people.

We cannot normalize this. The National Guard should not be used as a political weapon against governors, mayors, or residents who disagree with a president’s agenda. It’s dictatorial, it’s dangerous, and it undermines the very constitutional principles the op-ed claims to uphold. Yes, elections have consequences—but Trump has repeatedly ignored many of his own campaign promises and instead “played politics” to consolidate more power, not solve real problems. Let us not forget that we are a nation built on the backs of immigrants, and that governing by fear will only sow deeper division, trauma, and long-term harm to the very fabric of our communities. This moment demands resistance—not compliance. Because if we stay silent now, what precedent are we setting for the next president who doesn’t like what your mayor says?

Suzanne York is a retired teacher from PUSD, a resident of Pasadena who serves on Pasadena’s Environmental Advisory Commission.