Trump authorizes troop deployment in Portland
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump has authorized the deployment of troops in Portland and at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, extending his contentious domestic use of the military.
The potential deployment in Portland, the largest city in Oregon, would follow similar moves by the Republican president to mobilize troops against the wishes of local Democratic leadership in Los Angeles and the capital Washington.
"At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, 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," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sept. 27.
"I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary," he added, without specifying what "full force" meant.
Portland has seen months of protests at a local ICE facility amid anger over the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented migrants.
Protests have occurred at other ICE facilities around the country as Trump's mass deportation drive has seen thousands of migrants rounded up, often by masked agents.
The hardline approach has sparked conflict with local so-called "sanctuary" jurisdictions like Portland, which have policies of not coordinating with federal immigration authorities.
Trump's announcement on Sept. 27 comes days after a deadly shooting at an ICE facility in Texas, in which one detainee was killed and two severely injured.
Federal officials say the gunman, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot, had sought to target ICE agents from a nearby rooftop.
