200 members of the Oregon Nationwide Guard are being positioned beneath federal management and deployed throughout the state, a transfer the Trump administration says is required to guard immigration enforcement officers and authorities amenities, in accordance with a Protection Division memo obtained by state leaders on Sunday.
The deployment is being revamped the objections of state leaders and is just like one in June in Los Angeles, the place protesters demonstrated in opposition to federal immigration raids, although on a a lot smaller scale.
There was no rapid remark from the White Home. A number of Pentagon officers had been contacted, however none would affirm or deny the authenticity of the memo.
President Trump had introduced Saturday that he would ship troops to Portland. The state’s governor, Democrat Tina Kotek, mentioned Sunday that she objected to the deployment in a dialog with the president.
“Oregon is our residence — not a navy goal,” she mentioned in an announcement.
Dan Rayfield, the state legal professional basic, mentioned he was submitting a federal lawsuit arguing that Trump was overstepping his authority.
“What we’re seeing isn’t about public security,” he mentioned. “It’s concerning the president flexing political muscle beneath the guise of legislation and order, chasing a media hit on the expense of our group.”
The Pentagon memo offered by Oregon leaders drew a direct comparability between the deployment of hundreds of Nationwide Guard troops to Los Angeles and the proposed deployment to the state, including, “This memorandum additional implements the President’s route.”
Whereas the memorandum doesn’t particularly cite Portland because the goal of the proposed deployment, Trump, in a social media submit Saturday, mentioned he directed the Pentagon, on the request of Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem, “to supply all essential Troops to guard Struggle ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Services beneath siege from assault by Antifa, and different home terrorists.”
“I’m additionally authorizing Full Pressure, if essential,” Trump added.
Not like in Los Angeles, it doesn’t seem that Trump or Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth are at present directing the deployment of active-duty troops to the state. The Trump administration deployed about 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles, who had been withdrawn a few month later.
The motion additionally could be far lower than Trump’s deployment to Washington, D.C., the place greater than 1,000 Nationwide Guard troops, together with models from different states, have patrolled the streets for weeks. He additionally has been suggesting that he’ll ship troops into Chicago, however to this point has not performed so.
Megerian and Toropin write for the Related Press.
