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President Donald Trump said Monday he is considering invoking the Insurrection Act to send federal troops into Portland, Oregon, as protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations continue to escalate.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the situation in Portland has not yet reached the point of requiring military intervention but warned that he would act if local officials could not maintain order.
“Portland is on fire. Portland’s been on fire for years,” Trump said. “So far it hasn’t been necessary. But we have an Insurrection Act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I’d do that. If people were being killed, and courts were holding us up or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure, I’d do that. I mean, I want to make sure people aren’t killed.”
The Insurrection Act, a law dating back to 1807, allows a president to federalize National Guard units and deploy them within U.S. cities to address what is deemed an insurrection or widespread civil disorder.
The president’s comments came a day after U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut blocked his administration for the second time from deploying National Guard troops to Portland. Immergut, a Trump appointee, ruled that such actions would violate both federal law and the 10th Amendment, which limits the federal government’s authority over states.
The Trump administration had previously sought to send Oregon and California National Guard members to assist federal agents in protecting an ICE facility where demonstrators have repeatedly clashed with law enforcement. Sunday’s ruling extended the prohibition to all National Guard deployments to the city.
Portland has faced nightly protests for weeks, with demonstrators gathering outside federal buildings and immigration facilities. Federal officials have said their officers have been targeted with fireworks and rocks, while protesters accuse authorities of excessive force.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized state and local leaders for their handling of the unrest and stated that he will continue to explore federal options to “restore law and order.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Immergut’s decision was “untethered in reality and in the law,” and said that Trump was legally within his rights to call up the National Guard “in cases where he deems it appropriate.”
