President Trump’s decision to order 200 Oregon National Guard troops into federal service to protect immigration-enforcement personnel and federal facilities in Portland was the kind of decisive law-and-order action this country needs when local leaders abdicate responsibility. The move prompted immediate outrage from Oregon’s Democratic leadership and a federal lawsuit, but the president is right to prioritize the safety of federal officers who are increasingly targeted by violent mobs.
Conservative Americans should be unapologetic about defending ICE and other federal agents who enforce the rule of law. While left-wing activists howl about militarization, the truth is that the protests around an ICE field office in Oregon have at times become violent, and federal personnel deserve protection when local officials refuse to secure federal property. Those who dismiss the threat as mere political theater are ignoring real danger faced by hardworking public servants.
This is not a novel tactic — the federal government has stepped in before when cities failed to protect federal buildings and personnel — and when it does, critics typically predict disaster. The 2020 deployments to Portland exposed coordination problems and poor planning by some federal agencies, a cautionary tale about execution, not a reason to tolerate lawlessness. The lesson is clear: get the mission right, equip and brief personnel properly, and stop reflexively bowing to political pressure from mayors who refuse to control their streets.
Oregon’s lawsuit and the predictable moral panic from coastal elites reveal a deeper rot in Democratic governance: a preference for virtue-signaling over public safety. Governor Kotek’s claim that Oregon is “not a military target” rings hollow when peaceful neighborhoods can turn into lawless zones overnight and federal staff are threatened. If local officials cannot or will not do their job, the federal government has an obligation to step in and defend constitutional institutions.
The way many local leaders found out about the deployment — through social media rather than a proper briefing — is irresponsible, but it doesn’t change the fact that protecting federal personnel is a legitimate federal function. Democrats who shriek about “militarization” are really angry because it exposes their refusal to enforce basic order and because it undercuts their political narrative. Patriots should stand with the troops and the agents on the front lines, not with those who cultivate chaos for votes and headlines.
If Americans value the rule of law, we must back leaders who will defend it even when it’s unpopular in certain enclaves of the media and the academy. Sending the Guard to protect ICE is not an act of aggression against citizens; it is a sober, necessary step to ensure federal laws are upheld and innocent people are kept safe. The president deserves credit for acting when others waver, and conservatives should demand competent execution, clear rules of engagement, and full accountability for both local officials who failed their communities and federal agencies charged with carrying out these missions.
