President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he is sending soldiers to Portland, Oregon, claiming the move is “to protect [the] war-ravaged” city. He said troops will be used to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities “under siege from attack by Antifa and other domestic terrorists.”
Trump said he is authorizing the military to use “full force, if necessary.”
The order comes days after two people were killed and one wounded at an ICE facility in Dallas. Authorities said the alleged shooter wrote “anti-ICE” on an unspent shell casing. It also follows Trump’s signing of an order declaring Antifa a “terrorist organization,” despite its lack of a centralized structure.
Antifa is an anti-fascist political movement that the Trump administration has blamed for violent protests at ICE facilities.
ICE facilities across the U.S. have drawn protests opposing Trump’s mass deportation policies.
Leaders in the heavily Democratic city criticized Trump’s use of federal agents and troops in Portland.
“We need federal help,” Mayor Keith Wilson said. “We need federal help to renew our infrastructure, and build affordable housing, to help clean our rivers and plant trees, and imagine the future of high-speed transportation. Instead of help, they’re sending armored vehicles and masked men. If the federal government didn’t come to lend us a hand, then take a hike.”Under federal law, military personnel are prohibited from conducting law enforcement operations but can be used to provide support to officers.
