WASHINGTON (Realist English). U.S. President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he has instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy troops to Portland, Oregon, to protect federal immigration facilities. He said the forces are authorized to use “full force, if necessary” against what he described as “domestic terrorists.”
“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 Truth Social.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson did not immediately respond to the announcement. On Friday, he told reporters that the recent influx of federal officers had not been requested by the city, describing it as an “overreach and a distraction.”
Trump, speaking Thursday, accused “crazy people” of attempting to set fire to buildings in Portland, calling them “professional agitators and anarchists,” though he offered no evidence.
The president has made law-and-order policies a centerpiece of his administration, even as violent crime rates have declined in many U.S. cities. His interventions in Democratic-led municipalities, including Los Angeles and Washington, have raised legal challenges and sparked protests.