National Guard troops are being sent to cities from coast to coast as the White House uses their deployment in the District of Columbia as a template for immigration enforcement and crime-fighting missions.
President Trump said Wednesday that troops had arrived in Portland, Oregon, and he plans to send 100 Guard troops to Chicago to aid in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Both Democratic-led cities have long been deportation “sanctuaries” for illegal migrants. They became hotbeds of violent anti-ICE protests as federal authorities began their operations.
“The National Guard is now in place, and has been dedicated to restoring law and order, and ending the chaos, death, and destruction,” the president said about Portland in a Truth Social post Wednesday. “We are a Nation of law, and we will prevail.”
Mr. Trump mentioned additional cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City, all run by Democrats, as targets for federal intervention during a speech to top military generals.
“They’re very unsafe places, and we’re going to straighten them out one by one,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday. “And this is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room. That’s a war too. It’s a war from within.”
He also sees the cities as military “training grounds.”
“I told [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth] we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military,” he told the top commanders in Quantico, Virginia.
Democratic-led states are working to stop the troop deployments, and Republican-led states have either welcomed or requested the National Guard deployments to help address issues within their borders.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe authorized National Guard troops to fulfill administrative duties amid ICE operations. Governors in Tennessee and Louisiana are also looking for the National Guard to support overworked and understaffed police departments in urban areas.
Mr. Trump insists on sending federal forces to the cities after his 30-day crime emergency in the District.
Armed National Guard troops roamed the National Mall and bustling Metro stations while federal agents patrolled city streets alongside Metropolitan Police officers.
The surge produced massive drops in homicides, muggings and carjackings in the nation’s capital and inspired Mr. Trump to try to replicate those results elsewhere.
The District is a federal city with unique government control. Governors in Democratic-led states are mounting lawsuits to prevent troop deployments.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced the state’s legal filing over the weekend. She said the arrival of 200 National Guard members in Portland was an unconstitutional abuse of power.
“I think this is a sad day for our country, a sad day for Oregon that the president of the United States does not listen to local leaders about what they need,” Ms. Kotek said.
Addressing the governor’s concerns in his speech Tuesday, Mr. Trump said Portland was “burning down” and looked like a “nightmare.”
The ICE detention facility in Portland has been the site of protests ever since the Trump administration ordered the National Guard into Los Angeles during anti-ICE riots this summer.
The White House said 26 people have been charged with federal crimes in connection with the Portland demonstrations through Sept. 8. The charges include arson, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
Portland Police Bureau Chief Bob Day said this week that the ICE facility takes up only one block of the city and does not represent all of public safety. The White House remained unconvinced and declared the mobilization of federal forces to “stop Antifa-led hellfire in its tracks.”
“While Democrat politicians deny reality, it’s obvious what’s happening in Portland isn’t protest; it’s premeditated anarchy that has scarred the city for years — leaving officers battered, citizens terrorized and property defaced,” the administration said in a statement.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the Defense Department plans to send 100 active-duty troops to Chicago to protect ICE agents as part of Operation Midway Blitz.
Federal authorities arrested 11 rioters over the weekend after they clashed with agents outside an ICE detention facility near Chicago. The Department of Homeland Security said two of the protesters were carrying guns.
Mr. Pritzker said ICE agents have been going around the city’s downtown and “harassing people for not being White.”
“They’re not targeting violent criminals or gang members. They’re arresting tamale vendors and delivery men, and shaking down families,” Mr. Pritzker said this week. “Donald Trump, [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem and [White House border czar] Tom Homan said they were targeting the worst of the worst.”
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the Trump administration can expect a legal challenge when troops arrive.
Republicans are either activating their own National Guard troops or soliciting help from the federal government.
Mr. Kehoe, Missouri’s governor, on Tuesday authorized National Guard troops to fulfill “administrative, clerical and logistical duties” amid ICE operations.
The mission started Wednesday, and troops can be on duty until Sept. 30, 2026. It’s not immediately clear how many Guardsmen are being deployed throughout the state.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee welcomed the troop deployment to Memphis as part of a 13-agency crime crackdown involving state and federal forces.
“The story of crime in Memphis is about to be a story of the past,” Mr. Lee said at a news conference last week announcing the federal surge that is now underway.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday that the Memphis Safe Task Force has already netted 53 arrests and seized 20 illegal guns, adding that 219 National Guard troops have been given special federal enforcement authority.
Memphis Police Chief C.J. Taylor said more troops are expected to arrive in the city within the next two weeks. She said the Guard will focus on non-public safety efforts. It’s not clear how many will be coming to the city.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry asked the Defense Department to send 1,000 guardsmen to his state’s three largest cities — New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport — to help understaffed police departments.
“These manpower shortages limit their ability to effectively address this public safety threat and consequently, incidents of homicide, carjacking and gang-related violence, significantly exceed the national average,” the governor wrote Tuesday in his letter to the Pentagon.
All three cities have reported drops in homicides, although Baton Rouge has seen an uptick in robberies and assaults this year, and Shreveport has witnessed more sex crimes and car thefts.
• Mallory Wilson contributed to this report.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.