Trump's legal authority to deploy agents to U.S. cities may be limited, experts say

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-race-protests-law/trumps-legal-authority-to-deploy-agents-to-us-cities-may-be-limited-experts-say-idUSKCN24M2WF

Legal experts said Trump can deploy federal agents to enforce federal laws, but lacks carte blanche.

“The president is not the king,” said Kent Greenfield, a Boston College law professor specializing in constitutional law. “The president does not have the ability to require states to enforce their laws in a certain way, or to elbow aside their law enforcement abilities.”

Federal law gives Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf power to deputize agents to protect federal properties, such as the federal courthouse in Portland, and people there.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Tuesday that this enforcement power may extend beyond the physical boundaries of federal properties.