Two hundred members of the Oregon National Guard are being placed under federal authority and deployed to protect immigration enforcement officers and government facilities, according to a Defense Department memo shared with state leaders on Sunday.
The move mirrors last summer’s deployment to Los Angeles—where protests erupted over deportation operations—though this effort is on a smaller scale.
There was no immediate comment from the White House. Multiple Pentagon officials declined to confirm or deny the authenticity of the memo.
President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he would send troops to Portland. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, said Sunday she strongly objected to the decision during a conversation with the president.
“Oregon is our home — not a military target,” Kotek said in a statement.
State Attorney General Dan Rayfield also announced he is filing a federal lawsuit, arguing that Trump is exceeding his authority.
“What we’re seeing is not about public safety,” Rayfield said. “It’s about the president flexing political muscle under the guise of law and order, chasing a media hit at the expense of our community.”
The Pentagon memo shared by Oregon officials compared the situation directly to the large-scale National Guard deployment in Los Angeles in June. It stated: “This memorandum further implements the President’s direction.”
Although the document did not name Portland as the target, Trump wrote in a social media post Saturday that he had directed the Pentagon—at the request of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem—“to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.”
“I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary,” Trump added.
Unlike Los Angeles, however, it does not appear that Trump or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plan to deploy active-duty troops to Oregon. Last summer, about 700 active-duty Marines were sent to Los Angeles but were withdrawn just over a month later.
The action would also be smaller in scale than the deployment to Washington, D.C., where more than 1,000 National Guard troops—including units from outside the district—have patrolled the streets for weeks. Trump has also suggested sending forces into Chicago, though that has not yet occurred.
