Federal troops could arrive in Portland later this week
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Protesters gathered at the ICE building in South Portland Saturday night following news that President Trump had authorized federal troops to protect the facility. Photo: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images
National Guard troops could arrive in Portland as soon as Thursday, per the Oregonian, depending on the outcome of a lawsuit seeking to block the deployment.
Why it matters: The timeline has come into sharper focus as local leaders continue to say the presence of federal troops is unnecessary and unlawful.
- "The justification for them being in our cities is either a misunderstanding or a lie," Mayor Keith Wilson said at a press conference Monday afternoon, flanked by the mayors of more than a dozen cities across the region.
- "I hope it's a misunderstanding that we can soon resolve."
The latest: Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed a motion Monday morning seeking a temporary restraining order that included affidavits from local law enforcement and former military officials warning of the danger that could come with troops deployed to Portland streets.
- Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan wrote in a sworn statement that "members of the military are ill-suited to engage in domestic law enforcement tasks unless they receive extensive scenario-based training on the particular tasks required by the mission."
- A hearing on the restraining order was scheduled for Friday morning.
State of play: Oregon and Portland filed a lawsuit on Sunday to block President Trump from deploying troops to the city.
- The suit notes that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum "calling 200 members of the Oregon National Guard into federal service for a period of 60 days."
Catch up quick: Demonstrators have been gathering at the ICE facility in South Portland on a near-nightly basis since June, with crowds ranging from a handful of people to more than 100, usually calling for the release of immigrants detained by the agency.
- The facility, which is for housing detainees for short periods of time, has been used by ICE since 2011.
- Federal agents arrested more than two dozen people at the facility this summer, per the Oregonian, for charges ranging from felony aggravated assault to misdemeanor failure to follow orders.
- The vast majority of arrests — 22 of 29 — came in June and July.
Separately, Portland police made 25 arrests at the facility in mid-June, but none since then, with the exception of two arrests on Sunday night.
Between the lines: Earlier this month, the city issued a land-use violation against the ICE facility, which allegedly held detainees overnight — a practice not permitted under Portland code.
Flashback: Then-Gov. Kate Brown called in National Guard troops during the racial justice protests of 2020, when protesters repeatedly clashed with federal agents at the federal courthouse downtown.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to note that a hearing on the restraining order is now scheduled for Friday morning.