Washington, D.C. — In a move that has reignited tensions between federal authorities and state leadership, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the deployment of 200 Oregon National Guard troops to Portland under federal control — just as the State of Oregon is taking the Trump administration to court.
This action comes after former President Donald Trump, now in his second term, announced plans to send troops into the city to protect federal immigration facilities. Trump described Portland as being under siege by what he labeled “domestic terrorists,” and indicated that troops were permitted to use “full force if necessary.”
The Oregon Attorney General, Dan Rayfield, has filed a federal lawsuit against Trump, Hegseth, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, arguing that the federal government is overreaching and infringing upon state sovereignty.
“Portland is not a war zone,” Rayfield’s lawsuit reads. “This is a fabricated narrative used as a political pretext to take control of local law enforcement activities.”
According to the lawsuit, demonstrations near Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities have been relatively minor and peaceful since June. Still, the federal order stunned many in the Pentagon, with six U.S. officials telling Reuters that they were unaware of the deployment plans until the order was already in motion.
Hegseth’s memo ordering the deployment — now made public through Oregon’s court filing — raised eyebrows across defense and political communities. “Sending 200 National Guard troops to guard a single building is not normal,” Rayfield emphasized in a statement.
Adding further complexity, recent data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association show that violent crime in Portland has actually declined during the first half of 2025. Homicides dropped by 51% compared to the same time last year, challenging Trump’s narrative of a city in chaos.
Since his return to office, Trump has leaned heavily into crime and immigration as cornerstones of his policy focus, even as national crime rates have trended downward in numerous cities.
For Portland residents, this isn’t the first time federal troops have arrived uninvited. In 2020, the city saw months-long protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Then too, critics argued that federal involvement only fueled tensions rather than resolving them.
Today, history feels like it’s repeating itself.
Mayor Keith Wilson, along with many Oregon leaders, first heard about the federal troop deployment not through official channels, but via social media.
“It was a bolt from the blue,” said one Pentagon official, who noted that the military had been focusing on contingency plans for possible deployments in cities like Chicago and Memphis — but not Portland.
Meanwhile, unease grows nationally as federal actions intensify following a recent shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas, which left one detainee dead and two seriously wounded.
