President Trump announced Saturday that, at the request of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, he was directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to send troops to Portland to protect the city and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.
Trump said he was also authorizing “full force, if necessary.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin justified the request by citing weeks of violent riots at ICE facilities, assaults on law enforcement, and the terrorist attack at an ICE facility in Dallas.
A DHS release noted three anti-ICE incidents in Portland in late June and said rioters have repeatedly attacked the city’s processing center.
Protests outside Portland’s federal ICE detention facility have been ongoing since June, with flareups on July 4 and Labor Day. Many turned violent, prompting tear gas deployment and temporary facility closures.
As expected, the usual suspects, liberals and Democrats, opposed the president’s move to enforce existing laws and defend federal property. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told Trump to “stay the hell out” of Portland after the announcement.
Wyden disputed Trump’s claim that ICE facilities were “under siege,” posting a video of a quiet site and insisting the city did not need federal troops.