The officers deploying to Portland are вЂњhighly trained,вЂќ and many wear camouflage because thatвЂ™s their duty uniform on the southwest border, according to acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, responding to charges of a militarized response to the protests. That same night, Trump stood before Mount Rushmore and accused protesters around the country who have pushed for racial justice of engaging in a вЂњmerciless campaign to wipe out our history.вЂќ He later criticized officials in Portland for allowing demonstrations to get вЂњtotally out of control.вЂќ That night, according to Russell, protesters attempted to set fire to the federal courthouse and DHS deployed a Rapid Deployment Force as part of вЂњOperation Diligent Valor.вЂќ

Protests have been taking place in Portland since May 26 but the federal agents kept a вЂњdefensive postureвЂќ by staying inside federal buildings until July 3, Russell said in the affidavit, filed in response to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union seeking protections for journalists and other legal observers covering the demonstrations. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who is chairman of the committee.ДЄs of Monday, there were 114 federal agents and officers deployed to downtown Portland, according to an affidavit from Gabriel Russell, the regional director of the Federal Protective Service, the DHS component that provides security for federal buildings. вЂњAmericans across the country are watching what the administration is doing in Portland with horror and revulsion and are wondering if their cities could be President TrumpвЂ™s next targets,вЂќ said Rep.

But it has made the agency, created to improve the nationвЂ™s response to terrorism, a target of widespread criticism.Д¬ongress plans to delve into the issue Friday, when the House Homeland Security Committee holds a hearing on the federal response to the protests in Portland and TrumpвЂ™s announcement that he plans to send federal agents to Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico, to help combat rising crime while making вЂњlaw and orderвЂќ a central theme of his reelection campaign. The deployment of DHS agents and officers is legal, both under existing law and an executive order President Donald Trump signed June 26 to protect federal property and monuments. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is also an agency within DHS. вЂњThe Department of Homeland Security was never intended as a national police force let alone a presidential militia,вЂќ said Peter Vincent, a former general counsel for U.S. DHS has dispatched air marshals as well as the Customs and Border Protection Special Response Team and even members of the Coast Guard. ItвЂ™s not just the Border Patrol Tactical Unit that has been called to duty in Portland.

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