ArcaMax

SAN DIEGO -- It's a simple concept that has somehow eluded the knuckleheads in the Trump administration: You can't break the rules to show people that they have to follow the rules. You can't violate the law while trying to enforce the law.

As they round up, arrest and deport people who have allegedly broken the law, administration officials can get awfully sanctimonious about upholding the rule of law. But it turns out the call is coming from inside the house. This administration is itself full of lawbreakers.

Given that we have a corrupt White House and a compliant Congress, thank goodness we still have a third branch of government in this country or all would be lost. It is often up to the judicial branch to save the day. It helps that the Founders had the wisdom to make the federal judiciary independent and insulate it from political pressure.

That's the main reason voters don't elect federal judges; throughout U.S. history, whether they were issuing controversial rulings about segregation in Birmingham or bussing in Boston or same-sex marriage in Burlington, the folks in black robes had to do more than just look at facts and interpret the law. They also had to stand up to the mob. They could do so with the confidence of knowing that -- under the Constitution -- bullies and blowhards couldn't vote them out of office.

Now, rest assured, the mob will grab their pitchforks and come for U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer of the Northern District of California. MAGA supporters are already vilifying him on Fox News, making it seems as if he is the problem. He's not. The problem is that the Trump administration pushed its immigration enforcement juggernaut too far.

This week, in a 52-page opinion, Breyer dealt a major blow to the White House when he ruled that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated federal law in June when they deployed nearly 5,000 National Guard troops and about 700 active-duty U.S. Marines to carry out domestic law enforcement actions in Los Angeles. Noting that the president plans to establish a federal presence in other Democratic cities such as Chicago, Boston, Baltimore and San Francisco, Breyer said that doing so would amount to Trump "creating a national police force with the President as its chief."

That is such a devastating line, which has the additional benefit of being 100% true.

Still, Breyer also showed restraint. He made clear that his order was "narrowly tailored" and declared that the administration was not required to immediately pull back the 300 troops that are still stationed in Los Angeles. He also stayed his ruling until next week to give the administration a chance to appeal.

We can be sure that an appeal is coming. But what is less clear is whether the Supreme Court will back the administration to the degree that MAGA is hoping. On the issue of the presidential power, at least two members of the conservative majority -- Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett -- have demonstrated a willingness to defy Trump.

You may be wondering how we got here. The path was paved by three things: contempt, carelessness and cockiness.

Trump is contemptuous of California because it's the biggest and baddest blue state in the country and because its Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, has political skills that are just as sharp as those of the commander-in-chief -- which, incidentally, is the job that Newsom wants next. He has all but declared candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. For now, the governor enjoys bragging rights since it was he who brought the lawsuit that led to the judge's decision. The score is now Newsom: 1, Trump: 0.

Finally, Trump was careless because he was in such a hurry to embarrass Newsom and wreck the California economy, which is the fourth largest in the world, by making immigrants -- who are the very definition of "essential workers" -- afraid to go to work that he trampled upon the federal Posse Comitatus Act. The 19th century law largely prohibits the use of military troops for domestic law enforcement purposes. The basic -- and powerful -- idea is our country's armed forces must never be used against our own people.

"No president is a king -- not even Trump -- and no president can trample a state's power to protect its people," Newsom said on X following the ruling.

And what a shame that sometimes the people have to be protected against their president.

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To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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