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WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Saturday (Sep 27) authorised 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 mobilise troops against the wishes of local Democratic leadership in Los Angeles and 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. "I am also authorising Full Force, if necessary," he added, without specifying what he meant. PROTESTS AND CLASHES Portland has seen months of protests at a local ICE facility amid anger over the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented migrants. The city was also the scene of major clashes during Trump's first term, at the height of racial justice protests after the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd. 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.
