The White House says National Guard activations in 19 states are unrelated to President Donald Trump's push to expand Washington, D.C.'s federal crime crackdown to other cities.
Up to 1,700 National Guardsmen are set to mobilize in 19 states in the coming weeks to assist the Department of Homeland Security with the administration's nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration.
That operation was initially announced last month and is not linked to potential federal intervention in crime-plagued cities, a White House official told Fox News.
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"This isn't new nor is it tied to the President's efforts to address violent crime in DC," the official said late Friday.
"DoD announced last month that National Guard troops would assist DHS with clerical support and other logistical tasks for processing illegal aliens at ICE facilities. It is separate from the federal interagency crime crackdown."
Trump activated the National Guard in Washington, D.C., earlier this month as part of an effort to slash violent crime in the nation's capital.
Touting the operation's success - at least 465 arrests have been made - Trump has signaled he intends to broaden the D.C. mission to other cities. "We're going to make it safe, and we're going to then go on to other places," he told federal agents and Guard troops Thursday at a D.C. patrol center.
On Friday, Trump added, "I think Chicago will be our next. And then we'll help with New York."
The White House has now clarified the operations are separate.
"The National Guard mobilizing to assist ICE processing with clerical and logistical tasks in several states is not the same as the President's actions to stop crime in DC," the official said.
The deployment of 1,700 National Guardsmen was first announced on July 25 in a Pentagon press release. Their roles include collecting personal data, fingerprinting, DNA swabbing and photographing detainees so ICE agents can focus on enforcement.
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Under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, the use of federal armed forces for civilian law enforcement is generally prohibited. But the National Guard will operate under Title 32 Section 502F authority, which does not apply to Posse Comitatus.
At the request of DHS, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in July approved hundreds of additional forces for ICE support and switched existing approvals from Title 10 to Title 32 status.
"We understood ICE's needs at that time to be more administrative in nature… as planning continued, working with our partners, it became clear more that ICE needed something different," a U.S. defense official told Fox News.
Meanwhile, 2,279 National Guard soldiers and airmen from Washington, D.C., and six states are already mobilized in the capital, having completed training, according to a Joint Task Force spokesperson.
The spokesperson described the figures as an "estimate" but said they are the most accurate available.
Under direct presidential authority, Guard members have been posted to monuments, checkpoints and traffic stops across all eight wards, with a mission of deterring crime and maintaining a visible security presence.
At Hegseth's authorization, those Guard members can now carry weapons if needed. But unlike the states, where Guard forces fall under governors' command, in D.C. they operate under direct presidential authority.
National Guard forces are carrying out presence patrols across Washington, D.C., including at Metro stations, Union Station, the National Mall and alongside U.S. Park Police.
Officials have also linked the D.C. operation to beautification efforts ahead of next year's 250th Independence Day celebration.
Trump has hinted the Guard may remain in the city for an extended period and that the mission could expand to other parts of the country.
