The Trump administration’s plan to deploy 200 members of the National Guard to Portland fanned protests at the city’s federal immigration building over the weekend, and it fueled a broader debate among Oregonians outside of the metro area.
Notable Oregon GOP leaders have backed President Trump’s depiction of Oregon’s largest city as a lawless, violent place in need of military intervention. That’s as federal data show a dramatic decline in Portland’s violent crime since 2022, and market research indicates visitor volume and tourism-related spending have risen since 2021. Beyond city limits, Republicans’ portrayal of Portland as a “war zone” resonated with some would-be visitors, while frustrating others.
Crook County resident Debbie Zimmerlee, 59, said she used to love traveling over the Cascades to shop and dine in Portland, but that changed after a visit last November.
“I wanted to go to the Fred Meyer that was just like two or three blocks down the street. And I was afraid to go,” Zimmerlee said, describing how she stayed on the phone with her husband for the whole walk and while she was inside the store, “until I got into the motel room and got the door locked.”
Like Zimmerlee, Tualatin resident Randy Welborn, 65, said he’s supportive of sending federal troops to the city.
“What are we supposed to do? Not send troops in there? I mean, obviously the leadership in Portland is not willing to deal with it, so they’ve left the door open for somebody that is going to try to do it,” Welborn said while visiting Redmond Monday.
In the Eastern Oregon city of Hines, Chris Larsen said he spent 35 years as a commercial carpenter in Portland, “when it was the most beautiful city in the United States.”
“Now we’re pig slop,” he said.
Larsen viewed Portland as overwhelmed with homelessness, and as a place where law enforcement doesn’t get the support needed to do its job.
“So, if the feds got to come and do it, so be it,” he said.
Larsen’s representative in the state Legislature is Mark Owens, a Republican from Crane.
Owens said in a text that some constituents in his sprawling rural district will not visit Portland due to safety concerns, while others have no issues going. He said his own family’s recent stay at a downtown hotel had uneasy moments.
“I was uncomfortable with the visible drug use and sale of drugs on the street. It was sad to see, but it provided a great learning opportunity for conversations with my kids,” Owens said of a visit this spring.
He declined to join GOP leaders who’ve publicly come out in support of troop deployment, saying he tries to “stay out of federal issues unless they directly affect” House District 60.
Oregon House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, a Republican from Clackamas County, said in a statement Sunday that “state and local leaders have allowed violent mobs and domestic terrorists to assault federal law enforcement, destroy property, and interfere with those seeking immigration services.”
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a Republican and former Oregon Congressional representative serving as Trump’s Labor Secretary, said she’d witnessed Portland transform “from a beautiful place to live to a crime-ridden war zone.”
This framing did not ring true with 51-year-old Matt Kurtz of Joseph, who often visits his mother in Portland. He called the deployment of troops a “hallmark of facism.”
“It’s a gross overreach and something that’s unnecessary,” Kurtz said, “But also, if you get your news and your perspective from one certain side, then you’re going to feel completely different about that.”
Creswell resident Elizabeth Burrows said she visits Portland about once a month. In an interview in Washington County, she viewed the federal government’s approach as “retribution to governors in the United States who are Democrats.”
“I think it’s a complete waste of money and we have a chaos maker in the White House,” Burrows said. “I think there are some problems in Portland, don’t get me wrong, but they don’t deserve armed forces.”
Amber Star recently bought a home in Oregon City after living in Portland for seven years. She recalled how the widespread protests in 2020 made her former home feel “a little crazy and a little scary to be downtown,” but now, she said, “It does feel like it’s bouncing back.”
Star called the notion that Portland is a war zone “total bullsh–.“ She questioned the legality of deploying National Guard troops to the city.
But she was also not against it. She said the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk earlier this month showed that “political violence is getting to that point.”
“So, sure, let’s break the mold a little bit as far as what is being done,” Star said.
Oregon and the city of Portland have filed a federal lawsuit arguing the administration overreached and acted unlawfully. The Portland Metro Chamber is organizing the city’s business owners against the deployment of troops.
“The Trump Administration’s disparagement of Portland using outdated narratives hurts, rather than supports, our city’s progress. And we have achieved real progress,” Portland Metro Chamber CEO Andrew Hoan said in a statement Monday.
Despite rising visitorship in recent years, a military intervention “certainly could” deter visitors, according to Travel Portland spokesperson Marcus Hibdon.
“We won’t know until it actually happens. And we trust that cooler heads will prevail and realize that there’s no need for this action in Portland,” Hibdon said.
Downtown Portland restaurant owner Lisa Schroeder said her neighborhood, and her business, Mother’s Bistro, are “a shell of what we were” before the pandemic, but not because of riots and protests. She instead blamed changed work habits, “mainly because people have not returned to offices.”
Schroeder compared the prospective military intervention to “a Goliath picking a fight with David.”
“We’re just a pawn in this game. I really don’t like being a pawn. I don’t like my city being dissed like this, because honestly it does nothing to improve people’s perceptions, and it is so not true.”
OPB’s Holly Bartholomew, Kyra Buckley, Bryce Dole, Rolie Hernandez, Dave Miller, Courtney Sherwood and Kathryn Styer Martínez contributed to this report.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
