Portland business and political leaders have released an open letter calling on President Trump to pull back his order to send troops into Portland.
“We firmly oppose any deployment of federal troops to our city and reject the negative characterization of our citizens,” the letter begins.
The letter, titled “Portland doesn’t need the Federal Troops” and disseminated by Portland Metro Chamber, is signed by Gov. Tina Kotek, Mayor Keith Wilson, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, Oregon’s Democratic members of Congress, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, among many others.
It notes that in 2020, during the weeks of protests and riots in Portland that followed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the first Trump administration sent in federal officers, “which compounded the harm to Portland.”
Since then, Portland and Oregon’s leaders point out, the plywood has come down off shop windows, crime has fallen dramatically and downtown Portland has seen an influx of workers and tourists. The return of federal force would prove “counterproductive,” the letter argues, with the negative impact falling hardest on residents and small-business owners who have nothing to do with the small and largely peaceful protests outside the ICE building in South Portland.
“The crime data clearly illustrates that Portland has no need for federal intervention,” the letter says. “We have achieved the largest homicide reduction among major American cities, with a 51% decrease in the first half of 2025.”
Noting that the social media/recruitment site LinkedIn named Portland one of its “Cities on the Rise” in 2025, the letter adds:
“Federal military intervention would directly threaten this progress and undermine the very momentum that’s attracting businesses activity and talent to our city. In Washington, D.C., restaurant sales plummeted 30% following federal troop deployment. Far from making people feel safe, an armed military presence dissuades customers and damages tourism and small businesses, which are vital to our economy.”
The local and state leaders call on President Trump to rescind his order to send troops to Portland and stop “perpetuating outdated narratives” about the city.
— The Oregonian