Phoenix, Tucson mayors join effort opposing Trump’s use of federal forces

PHOENIX — Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and Tucson Mayor Regina Romero joined more than a dozen mayors across the U.S. on Monday requesting the Trump administration cease using federal forces in major cities to quell protest activity.

In a letter sent to Attorney General William Barr and Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, the mayors described the deployment of federal agents against protesters as an “abuse of power,” according to a CNN report.

“The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked a national uprising and reckoning,” the letter stated.

“The majority of the protests have been peaceful and aimed at improving our communities. Where this is not the case, it still does not justify the use of federal forces. Unilaterally deploying these paramilitary-type forces into our cities is wholly inconsistent with our system of democracy and our most basic values.”

President Donald Trump’s administration also faces multiple lawsuits questioning its authority to use broad policing powers in cities. One filed Tuesday says federal agents are violating protesters’ 10th Amendment rights by engaging in police activities designated to local and state governments. The legal action was filed by the Portland-based Western States Center, which helps organize and promote the rights of communities of color and low-income people.

Oregon’s attorney general sued last week, asking a judge to block federal agents’ actions. The state argued that masked agents have arrested people on the street, far from the U.S. courthouse that’s become a target of vandalism, with no probable cause.

On Wednesday, the administration announced it will deploy federal forces to Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico, through the expansion of Operation Legend — originally launched earlier this month to send federal law enforcement personnel to Kansas City, Missouri.

“The most basic responsibility of government is to protect the safety of our citizens,” Barr said in a statement.

“Today, we have extended Operation Legend to Chicago and Albuquerque to protect the residents of those cities from senseless acts of deadly violence by targeting those involved in gang activity and those who use guns to commit violent crime.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who had initially blasted the news, said the U.S. attorney’s office will supervise the additional agents joining existing federal law enforcement offices.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Democratic Attorney General Hector Balderas said they will actively monitor federal law enforcement operations for any civil rights violations, while Albuquerque-based District Attorney Raùl Torrez said federal agents must stay within their traditional crime-fighting roles.

“In recent weeks there has been a radical movement to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police department,” Trump said at a White House event on Wednesday, blaming the movement for “a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders and heinous crimes of violence.”

“This bloodshed must end,” he said. “This bloodshed will end.”

The Associate Press contributed to this report.

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