The vehicle entrance at the ICE facility in South Portland on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, during demonstrations nearby. (Mark Graves/Oregonlive.com via TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that the Oregon National Guard troops he wrested control of to protect federal property are “now in place” in Portland.
In a post on his social network, Truth Social, Trump unleashed another wave of invective against Portland and the black-clad protesters he calls antifa, who he said were “viciously attacking” federal agents at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in South Portland.
“Our GREAT Federal Law Enforcement Officers have not been able to enforce the Laws in Oregon,” Trump wrote. “The National Guard is now in place, and has been dedicated to restoring LAW AND ORDER, and ending the Chaos, Death, and Destruction!”
The status of the 200 Oregon National Guard soldiers that Trump federalized over the weekend is unclear.
As of Wednesday afternoon, just six protesters stood watch in the rain outside the ICE office as traffic moved freely on South Bancroft Street. At one point, a car left unescorted from the gated perimeter, while a door set into the building’s wooden barricades hung open.
There was no sign of a military presence.
A spokesperson for the Oregon National Guard told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Tuesday that the mobilization was creeping along as officials waited for medical screenings, paperwork and required crowd control training to be completed.
The spokesperson, Lt. Col. Stephen Bomar, didn’t immediately respond to inquiries Wednesday.
Citing unnamed officials, ABC News reported Wednesday that soldiers were still attending civil disturbance training.
The Oregon Military Department’s legislative director told lawmakers Tuesday that the federal troops — one company each of infantry and military police — would be under a new chain of control, known as the U.S. Northern Command.
The Military Department said the feds would be on the hook for at least $3.8 million in salary costs during the deployment, which is expected to see boots on the ground for 60 days.
Trump offered no further information on the deployment in the two posts he issued, though he repeated claims that “conditions continue to deteriorate into lawless mayhem.”
Fedor Zarkhin of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.
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