WHITE HOUSE – U.S. President Donald Trump plans to expand the controversial presence of federal law enforcement on the streets of American cities to deter what he decries as unacceptable violence.
Trump, in comments to reporters on Monday in the Oval Office, remarked that federal forces on the streets of downtown Portland, Oregon, have done “a fantastic job” during the past three days.
Portland’s Mayor Ted Wheeler disagrees, telling reporters this week that the actions by federal law enforcement officials are “a blatant abuse of police tactics by the federal government” which Wheeler calls unconstitutional. The Oregon attorney general is asking a federal judge for a restraining order to prevent the federal agents from making any more arrests.
City and state officials say the para-military personnel, apparently drawn from several federal law enforcement agencies but displaying no identification, are exacerbating tensions with protesters. And more deployments are planned in other U.S. cities.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning to deploy about 150 federal agents to Chicago this week, according to the Chicago Tribune.
At least 71 people were shot, 12 of them fatally, from Friday afternoon to Monday morning in Chicago, according to the newspaper.
Trump mentioned Monday the possibility of dispatching forces to New York City, where he said politicians from the Democratic Party “have no idea what they’re doing.”
The president also indicated the situation is intolerable in Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore and Oakland.
