00:00So, what exactly is the National Guard, and why is its role now at the center of a political fight?
00:08I want to break it down a bit for you and show you some background.
00:11The National Guard is a state-based military force with units in all 50 states, plus D.C. and U.S. territories.
00:19They're weekend soldiers who train part-time, about one weekend a month and two weeks a year, but can be called up in emergencies.
00:26Typically, governors activate them to help with disasters or civil unrest, not for federal law enforcement.
00:33President Trump's recent deployments mark a major shift, using the Guard in Democratic-led cities to crack down on crime and immigration protests.
00:42Legal experts say it pushes boundaries of the Posse Comitadas Act, which bans using the military as a police force on American soil.
00:49The National Guard's roots date back to 1636, and over the decades, they've stood at some of the most defining moments in American history.
00:58From escorting black students into Little Rock's Central High in 1957, to patrolling Los Angeles streets during the 1992 riots, to delivering relief after Hurricane Katrina.
01:10Today, their mission remains the same, to protect Americans, but it has not faced this kind of scrutiny in decades.
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