President Donald Trump has called to send the National Guard into U.S. cities he labels “dangerous and unstable,” recently naming Memphis, Chicago, Portland and St. Louis as possible targets.
With Kansas City’s homicide rate rising in recent years, some students and residents feel that the metro could be next.
Trump has made similar moves before. In 2020, he deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., during protests after the murder of George Floyd. Last month, he deployed the National Guard again, issuing a “public safety emergency” despite low crime rates. The deployment faced backlash with D.C. officials arguing that it violated local laws and federal restrictions on military involvement in policing.
Sadiq Hopkins, a UMKC junior studying mechanical engineering, also serves in the Missouri Army National Guard. He called the act a misuse of presidential power.
“There is a lot to unpack here regarding not only the ethicality of the president mobilizing the National Guard outside a state of emergency but also looking at this as a gross misuse of his authority,” Hopkins said.
He noted that Guard focuses on field exercises, equipment maintenance, and weapons qualifications, not policing or community conflict.
“Not once in my five years of military have we trained on how to respond to violent events with an active shooter, work with community members to diffuse hostile protests, or when to use force in crowd control,” Hopkins said. “This lack of consistency and quality training will spell disaster for both the military personnel and the communities that are being terrorized.”
Hopkins argues that such deployments would further damage the relationship between law and the community.
“Using the National Guard to police these cities that already have long-standing mistrust of law enforcement will not magically resolve crime,” he said.
Dr. Nellie Goepferich, a UMKC criminal justice professor, referenced the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the use of the military in domestic law enforcement.
“Anything involving the military that appears to have sidestepped the rule of law, is involved in public discourse, and undermines credibility and trust in our government and military is a significant concern”, Geopferich said.
While Kansas City has not been mentioned by Trump, the spike in crime could make it a focus if deployments continue.
