'Full force if necessary,' Trump says he's sending troops to Portland, Oregon to protect ICE Trump said on social media he's sending troops to Portland, Oregon to protect immigration facilities
Show Caption Hide Caption Trump says he's sending the military into 'war ravaged' Portland, Ore. U.S. President Donald Trump will send the military into Portland, Ore, to protect the ICE facilities there, he said in a Truth Social post. CBC - World Video
WASHINGTON ‒ President Donald Trump said he is sending troops to Portland, Oregon, to protect ICE facilities, in the latest deployment of forces to a U.S. city.
Trump, in a Sept. 27 post on Truth Social, said he directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists." He added he authorized the military to use "Full Force, if necessary."
Neither the White House nor the Pentagon would say whether Trump intended to deploy active-duty military troops or National Guard troops. In response to questions from USA TODAY, officials also would not say how many troops would be involved in the deployment.
The move follows weeks of protests outside ICE's field office in South Portland opposing Trump's mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Some of those protests have turned combative with law enforcement, resulting in tear gas being deployed by officials.
As of Sept. 8, the U.S. Attorney’s Office had brought federal charges against 26 people for crimes including arson, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, according to a White House official speaking on the condition of anonymity.
In a statement, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson called the move to send federal troops "a short, expensive and fruitless show of force."
"The number of necessary troops is zero, in Portland and any other American city. Our nation has a long memory for acts of oppression, and the president will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it," Wilson said. In Portland, the mayor is a nonpartisan position.
Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement she is trying to get more information from the White House and Homeland Security.
"We have been provided no information on the reason or purpose of any military mission. There is no national security threat in Portland. Our communities are safe and calm," Kotek said.
As has happened in states across the country, federal agents and protesters have clashed regularly outside the ICE building in Portland, resulting in several arrests over the last few months. In a press conference on Sept. 26, local officials urged residents not to react to an increase in federal officers in the city.
“Don’t take the bait,” said U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. At the same news conference, Wilson said, “This may be a show of force, but that’s all it is: it’s just a big show.”
Other officials said the influx was intended to provoke protesters into a conflict.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that "we are not going to allow domestic terrorists to attack our law enforcement."
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the military is ready to mobilize at the president's direction, adding the Defense Department "will provide information and updates as they become available."
Democrats in Congress said they intend to fight Trump’s military deployment. “Portland is not ‘war ravaged.’ U.S. troops are not political playthings. And Trump is not a king,” Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “Democrats will fight in Congress to stop him."
The protests outside the ICE facility in Portland have occasionally been violent, but have largely been peaceful, beyond causing tension between residents and federal officials.
In a Sept. 26 news release, DHS pointed to arrests on two dates in June as examples of how people in Portland “have repeatedly attacked and laid siege to an ICE processing center.”
One person was charged for shining a laser in the eyes of ICE agents, another for throwing a smoke grenade at ICE officers and a third for attempting to damage equipment at the facility and then striking and kicking officers while being arrested.
The news release also stated that ICE agents have been doxed and were subject to death threats.
Trump earlier deployed the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, amid strong criticism from Democrats in those areas and legal challenges. Only in Memphis has Trump’s order been welcomed by the governor, Republican Bill Lee.
Earlier in September, Trump described living in Portland as “like living in hell” and said he was considering sending in federal troops. He has made similar threats in other Democrat-led cities, including Chicago and Baltimore.
Since the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Trump has blamed the “radical left” for the country’s problems with political violence. In a memo Thursday, Sept. 25, ordering a crackdown on alleged “organized political violence,” Trump wrote that “riots” in Portland and Los Angeles have resulted in a significant increase in attacks on ICE agents.
Trump indicated Thursday that an operation was underway.
“We’re going to get out there and we’re going to do a pretty big number on those people in Portland,” Trump said. He described them as “professional agitators and anarchists.”
[SRC] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/27/trump-troops-portland-ice/86390814007/
