Trump threatens to send military to quell Portland protests. Mayor says it's unnecessary

Protesters shout at police as they walk back toward the gate after clearing a path for vehicles, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Portland, Oregon.

---Jenny Kane/AP

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — With a gas mask hanging from her backpack, Deidra Watts stood with dozens of others outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, just as she has so many nights since July.

Protesters walked along a blue line painted on the building's driveway. "GOVERNMENT PROPERTY, DO NOT BLOCK," read white stenciled letters. When they got too close, police stationed on the building's roof fired munitions like pepper spray.

No one was injured Wednesday, and some of the crowd began to disperse around midnight. While disruptive to nearby residents — a charter school relocated this summer to avoid crowd control equipment — these nightly demonstrations were a far cry from the riots that engulfed the city in 2020 after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

Still, they have caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who is frequently at odds with Portland's mayor.

Last week, Trump described life in Portland as "living in hell" and said he was considering sending federal troops, as he has recently threatened to do to combat crime in other cities, including Chicago and Baltimore. This summer, he deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles as part of his takeover of law enforcement in Washington, D.C.

Violent crime has actually declined across most of the country in recent years, and Portland is no exception. A recent report by the Major Cities Chiefs Association found that homicides in Portland fell 51% from January to June of this year compared to the same period in 2024.

“There’s a campaign going on to portray Portland as a hellish place,” said Casey Leger, 61, who often sits outside the ICE building to observe transfers from immigrant detainees. “You can walk two blocks and sit by the river, have a soda, and watch the birds.”

The building is located on a busy road leading from the suburbs into Portland, adjacent to an affordable housing complex. During the day, Leger and several other advocates walked around, handing out "Know Your Rights" flyers with a hotline number for reporting ICE arrests.

In the evening, Watts and other protesters arrived, many dressed in black and wearing helmets or masks. She called ICE a heartless machine.

"Someone has to step up and let people know this isn't working, this isn't what the people agree on," Watts said.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nightly protests peaked in June after nationwide "Say No to King" marches, when Portland police declared one demonstration a riot. Since then, at least 26 protesters have been charged with federal crimes related to the ICE building, including assaulting federal officers, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Oregon.

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson issued a statement after Trump's threat: "Like other mayors across the country, I have not asked for - nor do I need - federal intervention." He said the city has protected free speech while "responding to occasional violence and property destruction."

Since June, smaller clashes have occurred. On Labor Day, some demonstrators brought a prop guillotine—a display condemned by the Department of Homeland Security as "an act of unhinged insanity."

Wilson said he expected protests to continue to be concentrated in the area near the building.

Some residents of neighboring apartments are unhappy. One resident filed a lawsuit seeking to enforce the city's noise ordinance. She said she finds the noise from the megaphones, speakers, and "screeching whistles" similar to air raid sirens unpleasant.

One of them filed a lawsuit seeking to force the city to enforce its noise ordinance. She said she believed the megaphones, speakers, and "screeching whistles" similar to air raid sirens ruptured her eardrum, and that the gas entering her apartment made her feel ill. The judge in the case sided with the city.

Rick Stipe, who has lived there for 10 years, said he accompanied some neighbors out because they were concerned about being harassed by the protesters.

"I just wish they'd leave us alone," he said. "I wish they'd leave."

Cottonwood School of Civics and Science, a charter school next to the ICE building, relocated this summer, citing chemical agents and crowd-control projectiles as a hazard to students.

He said many parents and students were regulars at Chris Johnson's nearby coffee shop. He lamented the school's relocation and the nationwide outrage over the protests.

“I think both sides have their own perspective on this,” he said, “and it’s just going to be divisive, which is unfortunate.”