Today's News: Trump Threatens Chicago and Portland Leaders While Administration Discusses Invoking Insurrection Act
These deployments have been met with strong opposition and legal challenges from Democratic city and state leaders, who argue the actions are unwarranted and escalate tensions.
Photo: Erin Hooley/AP
Overview
Date: October 8, 2025
Summary: The Trump administration is deploying federal agents and National Guard troops to several U.S. cities, including Portland, Oregon, Chicago, Illinois, and Memphis, Tennessee, citing a need to curb crime and protect federal personnel and facilities, particularly those of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These deployments have been met with strong opposition and legal challenges from Democratic city and state leaders, who argue the actions are unwarranted and escalate tensions. Amidst these disputes, the administration has also discussed invoking the Insurrection Act, and President Trump has publicly criticized and called for the jailing of opposing leaders.
Sources
CNN - Trump calls for jailing of Illinois leaders as court showdowns over troop deployments near
The Washington Post - A quarter of FBI agents are assigned to immigration enforcement, per FBI data
Fox News - Behind the scenes of Trump’s anticipated Antifa roundtable with Cabinet members
The Wall Street Journal - Trump Calls for Jailing of Chicago Mayor and Illinois Governor
Key Points
President Trump has authorized the deployment of federal agents and National Guard troops to cities like Portland, Chicago, and Memphis, citing a need to address crime and protect federal facilities and personnel, particularly ICE officers.
Democratic city and state leaders, including the mayors of Portland and Chicago and the governor of Illinois, strongly oppose these deployments, arguing they are unnecessary, politically motivated, and exacerbate tensions.
Legal battles are ongoing, with courts in Portland and Chicago hearing challenges to the federal deployments. A federal judge in Oregon temporarily blocked the deployment of National Guard troops to the state.
The Trump administration is seriously discussing invoking the Insurrection Act, a rarely used 19th-century law that would allow the president to deploy active-duty troops for domestic law enforcement purposes.
Trump has escalated his rhetoric against opposing Democratic leaders, publicly calling for the jailing of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker for their resistance to federal actions.
The administration frames the protests, particularly those involving “Antifa” activists, as “radical violence” and “insurrection” against the federal government.
Unique Highlights
The New York Times reports that internal federal officer reports from the week before Trump ordered troops into Portland described protests outside the ICE building as “low energy” on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26, noting acts of civil disobedience like chalk writing and “flipping a bird,” with no indication of dangerous escalation. The Multnomah County District Attorney stated protesters were “there to send a message to the federal government, not storm the ICE building.”
CNN provides specific figures for National Guard deployments in Chicago: 300 Illinois National Guard troops and 200 Texas National Guard troops were activated. It also notes the relocation of a soccer match from Chicago to Florida due to heightened immigration tensions.
NBC News offers insight into internal White House discussions about the Insurrection Act, detailing that legal defenses and various invocation options have been drafted. It also mentions Trump’s regret about not invoking the act during the 2020 protests and Stephen Miller’s consistent advocacy for its use.
The Washington Post (Trump says Chicago mayor…) highlights that violent crime rates in Chicago have dropped by 40 percent in the past decade, and shooting incidents are down 35 percent year-to-date, according to FBI and Chicago Police Department data. It also mentions an incident where ICE agents shot a woman in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood.
The Washington Post (A quarter of FBI agents…) reveals that nearly a quarter of the FBI’s approximately 13,000 agents are currently assigned to immigration enforcement, with the number climbing to upward of 40 percent in the largest field offices, leading to concerns among current and former agents about morale and the impact on national security investigations.
Fox News focuses on an anticipated “Antifa roundtable” with Cabinet members and “independent journalists,” listing specific attendees like Andy Ngo and Nick Sortor, and quoting White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson criticizing “Fake News Groupthink.”
The Wall Street Journal quotes Illinois Governor Pritzker directly calling Trump “a wannabe dictator” and stating, “If you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me.” It also notes Pritzker and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz discussing the possibility of being arrested by the Trump administration.
Contrasting Details
Nature of Portland Protests and Justification for Federal Intervention:
The New York Times reports that internal Federal Protective Service reports described Portland protests as “low energy” and not significantly violent or disruptive in the days leading up to Trump’s deployment directive. City and state leaders, including Mayor Keith Wilson and Governor Tina Kotek, argued the city was “well equipped to manage the demonstrations” and that the president’s perception of a “War ravaged” city was a “perception versus reality problem.”
In contrast, the Trump administration (as reported by The New York Times, CNN, NBC News, and Fox News) described Portland as “War ravaged” and “under siege from attack by Antifa.” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated that “rioters in Portland have been charged for crimes including arson and assaulting police officers — this isn’t a peaceful protest that’s under control, like many on the left have claimed, it’s radical violence.” Trump and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller further characterized the opposition to ICE operations in Portland and Chicago as “criminal insurrection” and “an all-out campaign of insurrection against the sovereignty of the United States.”
Necessity and Impact of FBI Reassignments to Immigration Enforcement:
The Washington Post highlights concerns from current and former FBI agents that reassigning nearly a quarter of the FBI’s agents to immigration enforcement is a “misuse of exquisite ability” and risks national security investigations and other complex matters falling through the cracks, leading to low morale.
Conversely, Attorney General Pam Bondi, as quoted by The Washington Post, defended the FBI’s increased focus on immigration, stating it is “necessary to keep the country safe” and that agents are “keeping Americans safe and getting illegal aliens out of our country, many of whom have committed violent crimes in this country.”
The Newsie Project uses AI to summarize, compare, and contrast the reporting of the major US and world online news sources.
This is an evolving project. Tools, approaches, and output formats will change over time. The Newsie Project does not attempt to provide a definitive capsule of any news story. While the incidence of errors in these summaries is low, and I attempt to spot-check details, AI tools can hallucinate. Please click through and read the articles for details (some may be paywalled).