On Sept. 28, thousands of Portlanders filled the streets carrying handmade signs that read “Abolish ICE,” “Democracy Dies in Silence,” and “Food Carts, Not Fascists.” The demonstrations were a direct response to President Trump’s authorization to deploy National Guard troops to Portland—an order that included permission to use “full force” in what he described as “war-ravaged Portland.”
For those who actually live here, that language could not be further from reality. Downtown Portland is calm, vibrant, and, as one resident joked, “ravaged only by overpriced coffee and bad drivers.”
Portlanders Push Back
Among the protesters was Grace Mueller, a junior at the University of Oregon, who returned home to Portland to join the demonstrations. She said the decision to send troops felt like a betrayal of the progress the city had made in recent years.
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“I think there has been a very big turnaround in the past few years,” Mueller said. “It’s just another example of Portland being used as a national scapegoat because it’s a more liberal-leaning city.”
Mueller pointed to improvements under Mayor [First Name] Wilson, including visible reductions in homelessness and drug use in public spaces. The deployment, she said, threatened to undo that progress and cast the city once again as a target of political theater.
“Un-American and Undemocratic”
At the rally, Sandy Chung, executive director of the ACLU—short for Act, Challenge, Love, Unite—delivered an impassioned speech condemning the move.
“President Trump, do not send military troops to Oregon,” Chung said to loud applause. “If you do, you are abusing your power, disrespecting and misusing our service members, and wasting taxpayer money on nonsense. What you are doing is un-American and undemocratic.”
Chung and other civil rights leaders emphasized that deploying troops to control largely peaceful protests violates the Tenth Amendment, which reserves powers to the states and reaffirms limits on federal overreach.
Local Leadership United
City leaders across Oregon echoed that sentiment. A coalition of mayors joined Portland’s Mayor Wilson in opposing the deployment, arguing that the presence of federal troops would undermine local governance and escalate tensions.
“There is no emergency, no insurrection, and no disaster taking place in Portland,” Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson said in a public statement. “In Eugene and in cities across Oregon, we remain committed to serving our communities, upholding the Constitution, and defending our laws—and we will stick together.”
Oregon officials stressed that state issues are best handled by state leaders, who are directly accountable to their constituents. They called the President’s order a misuse of military authority and a violation of Oregon’s sovereignty.
Escalation Instead of Peace
As many leaders feared, the deployment order fueled further unrest. Protests swelled through the weekend, and federal agents responding to crowds outside the Portland ICE facility fired pepper balls and tear gas into groups that included families with children and older residents.
The sight of federal officers in tactical gear confronting peaceful demonstrators reinforced the protesters’ message: Portland does not need militarization.
A Legal Victory for Oregon
In a temporary win for state officials and civil liberties advocates, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued a 14-day injunction on Sunday night blocking any federalization or deployment of National Guard troops into Oregon.
“The court recognized what we’ve said all along: there is no rebellion, no invasion, and no justification for militarizing our communities,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a statement.
A follow-up hearing is scheduled for Oct. 17, but for now, the injunction provides a reprieve for residents anxious about seeing soldiers on their city streets.
A Call for Restraint
The message from Portland is clear: the National Guard is not needed here. Troops belong in service of emergencies and natural disasters—not in managing peaceful dissent.
The deployment order, critics say, is nothing more than a political stunt, an attempt to project strength at the expense of constitutional limits and public safety. As Portlanders continue to march, chant, and play music in defense of their city, one refrain echoes loudest: No troops in Portland.
