As protests continue around the country in response to the growing concern over racial discrimination in the United States, the Trump administration has administered federal officers in cities around the country. One most notable city these past few weeks has been Portland, Oregon. Their militarized approach to the protests happening in Portland have included aggressive tactics such as attacking peaceful protestors and detaining others. However, US Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, alongside the rest of the Trump administration, has said that the agents have only been targeting those seeming to be involved in “criminal activity”. President Trump claims that this response is to help the people of Portland as well as to protect government buildings and property that have been damaged through the weeks of protests in support of Black Lives Matter.

This response has now expanded into Chicago where they are expected to stay for “at least two months”. Not only a response to protests, these agents are also supposed to address the high crime rates in Chicago. 

Learn more about the militarization of American cities in The New York Times.