John,

Donald Trump is using the National Guard against the American people, and almost every Republican governor has already helped him do it.

In at least 19 states, Guard members are assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Troops from Republican-led states have been sent to the nation’s capital and to aid in Trump’s further militarization of the southern border. In total, out of 27 states with Republican governors, at least 23 of them have assisted Trump’s war on Americans.¹

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker made the following statement:²

“For Trump, it’s about testing his power and producing a political drama to cover up for his corruption.

“Any rational person who has spent even the most minimal amount of time studying human history has to ask themselves one important question: Once they get the citizens of this nation comfortable with the current atrocities committed under the color of law, what comes next?”

Trump is alleging that the deployment of the National Guard is to protect ICE agents. But report after report details how the American people instead need protection from ICE and the Guard.

In Washington, D.C. a National Guard military vehicle crashed into a car and the driver had to be taken to the hospital.³ In Chicago, a pastor was praying at a protest when ICE agents shot him in the head and body with pepper-spray balls.⁴ Outside of Los Angeles, video shows an ICE vehicle ramming the truck of an immigrant rights advocate who was arrested, taken to the hospital, and later released.⁵

These attacks on innocent civilians cannot continue. Every governor in America now faces the same choice: Stand against Trump’s military deployments or allow the administration to turn American cities into a police state.

Send a direct message to your governor, urging them to stand up to Trump’s military deployments.

This alarming escalation is part of a broader crackdown targeting communities across the country, with the National Guard patrolling our streets under the guise of “restoring order.” These tactics are cruel, unnecessary, and a direct attack on our values.

In his September speech to military leaders, President Trump outlined an authoritarian playbook for the armed occupations of major American cities. He described a “war from within” and told the country’s top commanders they “should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military.”⁶

History teaches us: if a would-be dictator starts sending troops to our own cities to stomp on dissent, no one’s calls to protect rights or basic needs services are safe.

The law requires a state’s National Guard to remain under state control with very few exceptions. That means governors can refuse to cooperate, sue to block illegal deployments, and defend their citizens from Trump’s escalating attempts to use their state forces as instruments of fear and control.

It’s time for governors to act. Send a message directly to your governor and tell them to fight back against Trump’s occupation of our cities.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ Republican Governors Eagerly Join Trump’s Military Campaign Against Blue Cities
² Pritzker: Trump is Preparing to Deploy Texas National Guard Troops to Illinois
³ One civilian injured in crash with D.C. National Guard military vehicle
⁴ ‘I wonder about their intentions’: Chicago pastor speaks out after ICE agents shoot him in head with pepper balls in Broadview
⁵ Man speaks out after ICE agent reportedly rammed into his truck, took him into custody
⁶ Trump suggests using ‘dangerous’ US cities as ‘training grounds’ for military