Oregon, as well as to federal immigration facilities across the country, in his latest controversial use of the military for domestic purposes.

Writing on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, the US president said he had instructed his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to carry out the order, adding that soldiers would be permitted to use “full force, if necessary.” Trump claimed the move was needed to protect “war-ravaged” Portland and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities from “domestic terrorists,” but the city’s mayor and other Democratic leaders swiftly condemned the decision.

Just days before Trump’s announcement, a deadly shooting occurred at an ICE facility in Texas. One detainee was killed and two others were severely injured in the attack, which Trump blamed—without providing evidence—on the “radical left.” Protests against the US government’s anti-immigration policies have also taken place outside ICE facilities in several cities, including Portland.

It remains unclear whether only the National Guard, or also other military branches—as happened in June in Los Angeles amid protests against immigration raids—will be deployed to Portland. The US government has previously deployed troops to the capital, Washington, DC, in what Trump claimed was an effort to stamp out crime.

Portland and state leaders denounced Trump’s decision on Saturday, saying his actions went against their wishes. By law, the National Guard can generally only be deployed at a state governor’s request, and lawsuits are ongoing in California as well as Washington, DC over such deployments. “The number of necessary troops is zero, in Portland and in any other American city. The president will not find lawlessness or violence here—unless he plans to perpetrate it,” said Portland mayor Keith Wilson. (Aljazeera)