President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he had ordered U.S. troops into Portland, Oregon, to defend Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, declaring them targets of assault by Antifa and other domestic extremists. He said the forces would be authorized to employ “full force” if necessary.
The ICE facilities in Portland have been attacked several times over the past several months.
BREAKING: I went behind the scenes at the ICE facility in Portland with the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Service (@FPSDHS).
As anti-ICE protesters lay siege to the ICE facility for more than 90 consecutive days, here's an inside look at the officers who… pic.twitter.com/Uy5pe4jJ5D
— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) September 11, 2025
The move represents another instance of military deployment to an American city under Trump’s watch, following the dispatch of federal troops to Washington, D.C., last month and ahead of National Guard activations in Memphis next week, writes The New York Times.
Oregon leaders blasted the order as heavy-handed and unnecessary. Gov. Tina Kotek said she had urged Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem not to intervene. “Portland is doing just fine. I made that very clear to the president,” Kotek told reporters. “We got this. We are doing fine. There is no insurrection. We do not need or want federal troops in Oregon.”
Kotek said she learned of the decision on social media, the same way the public did, though she confirmed Trump promised further discussions.
Trump, posting online, said that Noem had requested federal reinforcements and that he had 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: “I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary.” The scope of that phrase was left undefined.
The Pentagon acknowledged awareness of Trump’s order. Meanwhile, Oregon’s congressional delegation expressed outrage. Sen. Ron Wyden accused the president of reacting to cable news clips rather than conditions on the ground. “Anytime he sees a TV show that involves even a mention of Portland, he gets all worked up. You can set your clock by it,” Wyden said. “A lot of his policies come by whim. So we need to push back, push back, push back until he gets another whim.”
For some reason Wyden thought posting a video showing the ICE facility during the middle of the day with its windows boarded up wasn’t proving Trump’s point.
Taken just a few minutes ago outside the ICE facility in Portland that Trump claims is under siege. My message to Donald Trump is this: we don’t need you here. Stay the hell out of our city. pic.twitter.com/XV3NCir20G
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) September 27, 2025
Outside ICE’s southwest Portland facility, small-scale protests have carried on for months, usually drawing fewer than two dozen participants. The confrontations—sporadic and largely contained to one block—have nevertheless produced clouds of tear gas that forced a nearby charter school to relocate. City officials are investigating whether the facility has violated zoning laws that restrict detention to under 12 hours.
The order comes days after a fatal shooting at an ICE location in Dallas left one dead and two critically injured, an incident the FBI is treating as targeted violence. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin defended Trump’s decision, citing weeks of violent riots at ICE facilities, assaults on law enforcement and the terrorist attack at our ICE facility in Dallas.
Earlier this week Trump also signed an executive order labeling Antifa a “domestic terrorist organization” and directing investigators to probe its financial backers—despite the absence of any such legal designation under federal law.
