President Donald Trump is deploying 200 National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, sparking widespread ridicule from residents who insist their city is peaceful and safe.
According to the Daily Mail, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum Sunday ordering the Oregon National Guard into federal service for 60 days to protect federal property "where protests are occurring or likely to occur." The deployment represents the latest phase in Trump's campaign targeting Democrat-led cities, following similar actions in Washington and Los Angeles.
Portland residents have responded with satirical posts mocking the president's characterization of their city as "war ravaged," sharing images of sunny streets and peaceful parks. Local resident @cheryl_v_w posted photographs of therapy llamas stationed at Portland International Airport, writing: "Imagine the look on the faces of the troops landing in Portland when they're being greeted by the therapy llamas at the airport."
Governor Tina Kotek received formal notice Sunday morning that troops must protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities and federal personnel. The state immediately filed a 41-page lawsuit seeking to block the deployment.
"The facts cannot justify this overreach," the lawsuit states, arguing that the "heavy-handed deployment of troops threatens to escalate tensions and stokes new unrest." Hegseth's order comes one day after Trump announced on Truth Social that he was 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."
Kotek responded by saying Trump was abusing his authority by sending troops into a city that was doing "just fine" on its own. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said Saturday there was no lawlessness or violence in his city.
Wilson declared during a news conference that the number of necessary troops is "zero" in Portland, "and any other American city." He insisted there is no lawlessness or violence in his city, claiming video footage showing violence was from five years ago and had been "recycled."
Wilson told reporters that if Trump visited Portland, he would find people riding bikes, playing sports, and enjoying sunshine at farmers' markets. He emphasized the city has undergone significant reforms since footage from 2020, including changes to the public safety system.
Several government, police and business leaders echoed Wilson's sentiments, saying soldiers are not needed in Oregon. Another resident posted an image of a street lined with trees cloaked in rainbow-colored crochets with the caption: "Makers unite. We knit at dawn. Portland prepares for war."
There have been numerous protests at the ICE building in South Portland over recent months due to frustration with Trump's mass deportation policies. Demonstrations began in June, with one morphing into a riot according to police who deployed tear gas and rubber bullets.
Additional protests occurred in July and September at the same facility, according to The Oregonian. The sidewalk by the ICE facility was mostly emptied of protesters around 8pm Saturday.
Portland is the latest city Trump has sent troops to, with Los Angeles and Washington DC getting boots on the ground over the summer. In June, Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines to quell rowdy protests in Los Angeles, again over his administration's immigration policies.
Portland has faced significant challenges in recent years, including a homeless problem with encampments crowding the downtown area. Drug use was rampant in these encampments, exacerbated by Oregon's 2020 law that decriminalized possession of heroin, fentanyl and meth.
Fatal opioid overdoses surged from 280 in 2019 to 628 in just the first six months of 2023. State lawmakers reversed the decriminalization with a law that took effect September 1, 2024, after intense public pressure.
More than 2,600 businesses had fled the city center by September 2022 as shoppers avoided downtown areas and retail theft began to spiral. The new district attorney for Multnomah County, Nathan Vasquez, has been focused on reducing crime, an effort he believes will help the city's economy recover.