President Trump Orders Troop Deployment to Portland Amid Rising Tensions

Fri Oct 03 2025 00:52:22 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a controversial move, President Trump has ordered the deployment of troops to Portland, Oregon, authorizing 'full force' to protect immigration detention centers amid ongoing protests. This decision has faced backlash from local officials and Democrats, raising questions about the legality and necessity of such an action.

President Trump has announced the deployment of troops to Portland, Oregon, in response to protests aimed at immigration detention centers. Citing threats from Antifa and labeling the city 'war-ravaged,' the president has authorized the use of 'full force' if necessary. Local and state officials, including Oregon's governor, have criticized the move, asserting that it represents an overreach of federal power and questioning the absence of a national security threat. The situation reflects ongoing tensions surrounding immigration enforcement and civil liberties in the United States.

Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of troops to Portland, Oregon, authorising use of full force if needed, to suppress protests targeting immigration detention centres.

The US president claimed the move would help protect any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists, characterising the city as War ravaged in a Truth Social post.

The announcement marks a further expansion of troop deployments in US cities, amid a wider crackdown by the Trump administration on illegal immigration.

The latest move has drawn pushback from Democratic lawmakers, who said there was no need for federal troops to be deployed to Portland. There is no national security threat in Portland. Our communities are safe and calm, said Oregon Governor Tina Kotek.

Kotek told a news conference on Saturday that any deployment would be an abuse of power, and said she was working with Oregon's Attorney General Dan Rayfield to see if any response is necessary. We will be prepared to respond if we have to, she added.

Trump's post does not specify whether he intends to activate national guard or regular US military - nor what is meant by the use of full force. We stand ready to mobilize US military personnel in support of DHS [Department of Homeland Security] operations in Portland at the president's direction, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the BBC.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland has been targeted by protesters since early June, sometimes leading to violent clashes. As of September 8, the US Attorney's Office had brought federal charges against 26 people for crimes including arson, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.

Despite the backlash from Democrats, the move has drawn support from some Republican officials. US Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said she had seen how lawlessness had turned Portland into a crime-ridden warzone. Earlier this year, Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington DC, and federal agents are expected to arrive in Memphis, Tennessee, next week.

A federal judge in California ruled earlier this month that the National Guard deployment in Los Angeles was illegal, and that it violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the power of the federal government to use military force for domestic matters. It remains uncertain whether Trump's actions in Oregon are legal under current laws.