SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A federal agent and a city police officer discuss tactics in Portland, Oregon during a demonstration on the night of July 24. (Photo: Jake Borden)
'Unacceptable, Un-American, and Unconstitutional': Six Mayors Demand Congress Block Federal Agents From US Cities
"This provocation is resulting in direct physical harm to our communities and must end."
Jul 28, 2020
Six mayors from around the country sent a letter to Congress Monday calling for legislation to block President Donald Trump from continuing to deploy federal agents to U.S. cities, calling the administration's use of force "unacceptable, un-American, and unconstitutional."
"This provocation is resulting in direct physical harm to our communities and must end," the letter reads.
\u201cAt the direction of the President of the United States, unidentified federal agents have been deployed to America\u2019s cities, like Washington, D.C., Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, to interrupt local protests and impose \u201claw and order\u201d for political purposes.\u201d— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@Mayor Ted Wheeler) 1595868970
As Common Dreams has reported, the ongoing deployment of federal agents to U.S. cities has been met with resistance around the country. In Portland, Oregon, thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest the presence of heavily armed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents to the city.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was one of the six signatories to the letter, joining Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Albuquerque, New Mexico Mayor Tim Keller, and Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton D. Lucas. All six mayors are Democrats.
"This administration's egregious use of federal force on cities over the objections of local authorities should never happen," they write. "As demonstrated now in Portland, these federal forces have used the pretext of protecting federal property to also patrol streets, way outside of their lawful jurisdiction, arrest residents without cause, and trample on Constitutional rights."
The mayors note that the agents appear to have no coherent plan and are ill-prepared for domestic policing.
"In an operation to protect lives, what is needed is a clear mission, a detailed operations plan, a clear chain of command, and coordination at all levels of government," the mayors write. "These federal forces are not trained in modern policing in a city context, such as de-escalation, have a completely different training and mindset regarding use of force, and have no cultural literacy regarding the communities they are engaging."
While Trump has sent federal agents to U.S. cities in an effort to escalate the situations on the ground in a political ploy for his reelection, it's not clear the strategy is working. A Gallup poll released Tuesday shows a clear majority of Americans--65%--support the demonstrations.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Six mayors from around the country sent a letter to Congress Monday calling for legislation to block President Donald Trump from continuing to deploy federal agents to U.S. cities, calling the administration's use of force "unacceptable, un-American, and unconstitutional."
"This provocation is resulting in direct physical harm to our communities and must end," the letter reads.
\u201cAt the direction of the President of the United States, unidentified federal agents have been deployed to America\u2019s cities, like Washington, D.C., Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, to interrupt local protests and impose \u201claw and order\u201d for political purposes.\u201d— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@Mayor Ted Wheeler) 1595868970
As Common Dreams has reported, the ongoing deployment of federal agents to U.S. cities has been met with resistance around the country. In Portland, Oregon, thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest the presence of heavily armed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents to the city.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was one of the six signatories to the letter, joining Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Albuquerque, New Mexico Mayor Tim Keller, and Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton D. Lucas. All six mayors are Democrats.
"This administration's egregious use of federal force on cities over the objections of local authorities should never happen," they write. "As demonstrated now in Portland, these federal forces have used the pretext of protecting federal property to also patrol streets, way outside of their lawful jurisdiction, arrest residents without cause, and trample on Constitutional rights."
The mayors note that the agents appear to have no coherent plan and are ill-prepared for domestic policing.
"In an operation to protect lives, what is needed is a clear mission, a detailed operations plan, a clear chain of command, and coordination at all levels of government," the mayors write. "These federal forces are not trained in modern policing in a city context, such as de-escalation, have a completely different training and mindset regarding use of force, and have no cultural literacy regarding the communities they are engaging."
While Trump has sent federal agents to U.S. cities in an effort to escalate the situations on the ground in a political ploy for his reelection, it's not clear the strategy is working. A Gallup poll released Tuesday shows a clear majority of Americans--65%--support the demonstrations.
Six mayors from around the country sent a letter to Congress Monday calling for legislation to block President Donald Trump from continuing to deploy federal agents to U.S. cities, calling the administration's use of force "unacceptable, un-American, and unconstitutional."
"This provocation is resulting in direct physical harm to our communities and must end," the letter reads.
\u201cAt the direction of the President of the United States, unidentified federal agents have been deployed to America\u2019s cities, like Washington, D.C., Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, to interrupt local protests and impose \u201claw and order\u201d for political purposes.\u201d— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@Mayor Ted Wheeler) 1595868970
As Common Dreams has reported, the ongoing deployment of federal agents to U.S. cities has been met with resistance around the country. In Portland, Oregon, thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest the presence of heavily armed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents to the city.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was one of the six signatories to the letter, joining Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Albuquerque, New Mexico Mayor Tim Keller, and Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton D. Lucas. All six mayors are Democrats.
"This administration's egregious use of federal force on cities over the objections of local authorities should never happen," they write. "As demonstrated now in Portland, these federal forces have used the pretext of protecting federal property to also patrol streets, way outside of their lawful jurisdiction, arrest residents without cause, and trample on Constitutional rights."
The mayors note that the agents appear to have no coherent plan and are ill-prepared for domestic policing.
"In an operation to protect lives, what is needed is a clear mission, a detailed operations plan, a clear chain of command, and coordination at all levels of government," the mayors write. "These federal forces are not trained in modern policing in a city context, such as de-escalation, have a completely different training and mindset regarding use of force, and have no cultural literacy regarding the communities they are engaging."
While Trump has sent federal agents to U.S. cities in an effort to escalate the situations on the ground in a political ploy for his reelection, it's not clear the strategy is working. A Gallup poll released Tuesday shows a clear majority of Americans--65%--support the demonstrations.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.