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1 1 (July 31, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbgl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ~* or 101 ' Federal Law Enforcement and the Portland Protests: Legal Considerations July 31, 2020 During the spring and summer of 2020, protests in response to the death of George Floyd erupted in major cities across the country. Responding to a perceived failure by state and local officials to control the protests, President Trump threatened to take action by, for example, deploying the military into cities to restore order. Recently, in the midst of ongoing protests in Portland, Oregon, the TrumpAdministration deployed hundreds of agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Although, according to some, the Portland protests were largely nonviolent, DHS reported numerous instances of what it terms violent anarchists committing crimes against federal property, justifying the presence of federal officers. Reports of unidentified federal law enforcement officers detaining protestors and transporting them in unmarked vehicles escalated tensions between local officials and the Trump administration. The federal law enforcement presence in Portland comes after federal agents were used to respond to similar protests in Washington, DC. Because of Washington, DC's unique status as a federal district, the federal government had more leeway to direct federal agents to assist in law enforcement. However, because Portland is under the authority of the State of Oregon, unique concerns have arisen over what legal authority the federal government possesses to use federal officers to respond to local protests, particularly as the Trump administration seeks to expand the use of federal law enforcement in other cities. And beyond the legal justification, the tactics reportedly being used by federal officers in Portland have raised legal questions and have led to a number of lawsuits filed against the federal government. This Sidebar discusses the general legal authorities relied on by DHS to allow for the federal presence in Portland and explores the potential legal questions raised by the presence of federal law enforcement in Portland, including the constitutional implications of the various tactics used by the federal officers. Legal Authorities Supporting Local Presence of Federal Law Enforcement Reports indicate that the federal law enforcement presence in Portland largely has consisted of officers from DHS, an agency that includes, among other components, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It also appears that the United States Marshals Service (USMS) within the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been involved. Public statements from administration officials have cited DHS's authority to protect federal property as the central justification for enhanced DHS law enforcement activity in Portland (USMS has Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10529 CRS Lega i&sebar Prempa red .o ---Membersand CC ..m; t.. s o i o ne c o : C--n-----. ----................... .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. .............................

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