Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned she would send “four times” the number of federal officers to Portland, Oregon, if they don’t receive more security assistance.
Noem made the comments in an interview on Fox News on Tuesday night.
Recommended Stories
- Texas National Guard members stage outside Chicago as part of Trump troop deployment
- Taylor Swift breaks silence on Super Bowl halftime rumors as Bad Bunny pick draws backlash
- Border Patrol arrests of illegal immigrants over past year hit 55-year low
“What I told him is that if he did not follow through on some of these security measures for our officers, we were going to cover him up with more federal resources and that we were going to send four times the amount of federal officers here so that the people of Portland could have some safety, they could have some security,” she said, referencing her meeting with Portland Mayor Keith Wilson.
She said her meeting with Wilson went poorly, and he did not commit to providing any of her security demands. According to Noem, Wilson said he would get back to her on Wednesday.
Noem said she requested more security at Portland’s ICE facility, a larger buffer zone between officers and protesters, and for them to open up the streets so the “anarchists” don’t “run this city anymore.”
Noem visited a Portland ICE facility on Tuesday, watching protesters shout to her from below. The facility has seen law enforcement deploy tear gas and smoke to disperse large crowds of protesters.
The Trump administration has sought a crackdown on Portland crime, ordering the National Guard to be deployed to the city. For now, a court has blocked the deployment twice, and it is currently in legal limbo.
Trump said on Sunday that Portland is “burning down to the ground.”
Oregon has resisted the administration’s demands for the National Guard. Gov. Tina Kotek (D-OR) said there is no insurrection in the state.
“I requested that Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents obey Oregon laws when they engage in federal operations,” the governor added. “I reiterated that I continue to be focused on doing whatever I can to protect Oregonians from military intervention or harmful federal law enforcement tactics. Oregon is united against military policing in our communities.”
PRITZKER VOWS TO BOOT NOEM’S ICE ‘THUGS’ FROM CHICAGO
The administration is confident that it will succeed in court and deploy the National Guard to patrol Portland’s streets.
“The President,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Politico, “will continue to be vindicated by higher courts when liberal activist judges attempt to intervene.”