Trump orders deployment of troops to Portland, ICE facilities

U.S. PresidentDonald Trump on Saturday said he was directing the U.S. military to deploy to Portland, Oregonand to protect federal immigration facilities against “domestic terrorists”, saying he was authorizing them to use “full force, if necessary.”

Ordering the latest crackdown on a Democrat-led city, Trump said in a social media post that he was directing 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.”

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, who like other Oregon officials learned of Trump’s order from social media, said: “The number of necessary troops is zero, in Portland and any other American city. The president will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it.”

Violent crime in Portland has dropped in the first six months of 2025, data show. Homicides fell by 51% compared to the same period a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by the Major Cities Chiefs Association in its Midyear Violent Crime Report. That report showed Portland had 17 homicides in the period compared with 56 in Louisville, Kentucky, and 124 in Memphis, Tennessee, which have comparable population sizes.

In a press conference on Saturday, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, a Democrat, rejected the need for troops and said she spoke with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“There is no insurrection, there is no threat to national security, and there is no need for military troops in our major city,” Kotek said.