Former President Obama highlighted “dangerous trends” in recent months in the wake of the Trump administration’s actions to federalize and militarize local law enforcement.
“This interview, which is also available to listen to as a podcast, provides a useful overview of some of the dangerous trends we’ve been seeing in recent months regarding federalization and militarization of state and local police functions,” Obama wrote on the social platform X, responding to a recent New York Times op-ed authored by Ezra Klein that details the uptick in the presence of federal law enforcement entities in cities and states across the country.
“The erosion of basic principles like due process and the expanding use of our military on domestic soil puts the liberties of all Americans at risk, and should concern democrats and republicans alike,” the former president added in a subsequent post.
Klein, in an interview with fellow journalist Radley Balko, noted President Trump’s 2026 budget defunds the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, but nearly triples the budget of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to $170 billion.
“ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have long been the most rogue, renegade and certainly pro-Trump police agencies in the federal government. So I think Trump sees those two as the most loyal to him,” Balko said in the interview.
“Also, obviously, the mass deportations are going to ensure that those two agencies remain relevant throughout his administration,” he added.
One of Trump’s top campaign initiatives focused on mass deportations. Republican governors have aided in the development of detention centers and backed the federal immigration crackdown at places of employment, worship and schools.
Protests against the president’s immigration agenda were blamed when Trump deployed the National Guard in Los Angeles in June, drawing the ire of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D).
The White House said Monday that more than 1,000 arrests have been made following the federal takeover of the nation’s capital, as Trump eyes additional locations to deploy soldiers to combat crime.
Trump said he’s considering Chicago, Obama’s hometown, for a federal force deployment despite objections from local Democratic leaders.
“We’re going to make our cities very, very safe,” the president told reporters last week.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said the effort to combat crime through federal initiatives was a hard no.
“Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here,” Pritzker said Monday.
“What President Trump is doing is unprecedented and unwarranted,” he continued. “It is illegal, it is unconstitutional, it is un-American.”
Obama has increased his criticism of the new administration in recent weeks after GOP redistricting efforts in Texas and the federal takeover of the nation’s capital.
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