Today, President Donald Trump doubled down on that bad call. He’s signed the deployment of federal troops to Portland, Oregon, and to a number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities around the country. This decision comes on the heels of heightened tensions after protests sparked by the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Trump would have us believe that this deployment is an effort to fight his caricature of crime or protect our cities from “domestic terrorists.”
Trump’s actions are a repeat of his 2020 choice to deploy federal forces to the streets of Portland. That move was met with near-universal outrage by local leaders. Trump would like to cast the current deployment as a necessary and limited response to increasing violence. This sense of urgency comes in the wake of a deadly shooting rampage against ICE in Texas, where one detainee died and two more suffered critical injuries. As a consequence, he has tried to nationalize this violence and attributed it to the “radical left,” without evidence for these ubiquitous radical actors.
Local leaders have fought back against Trump’s efforts. And mayor of Portland, Keith Wilson, is adamantly against the use of federal troops being deployed. He thinks the city doesn’t need their corporate ilk to thrive. Wilson noted that violent crime in Portland fell by 17 percent through the first half of 2024. This was a big step up from the same time last year.
“The number of necessary troops is zero, in Portland and any other American city. The president will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it.” – Keith Wilson
The deployment comes as Trump faces a barrage of damaging legal attacks from the Supreme Court. One of those challenges includes a vital freeze of $4 billion in foreign aid. This decision reflects ongoing support for his administration’s controversial policies, yet it contrasts sharply with local and state leaders’ reactions to his actions.
Additionally, Trump is making Portland a focal point of his administration’s agenda. He has promised to prevent Israel from annexing the occupied West Bank, which further complicates the foreign policy of his administration. The contrast between using the military at home and promising to use diplomacy abroad underscores the difficult challenge Trump’s presidency is proving to be in multiple arenas.
As tensions between federal authorities and local governance continue to escalate, Trump’s decision remains contentious. From Dr. King’s perspective, critics charge that his encroachment on community policing undercuts local law enforcement efforts and worsens the divide in communities already facing unrest.
