Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad F. Wolf on Monday said that federal authorities will do their jobs to keep the peace and protect federal property whether states and cities like it or not.
“I don’t need invitations by state mayors or state governors to do our job — we’re going to do that whether they like us there or not,” Mr. Wolf said on “Fox & Friends.” “At the end of the day, we’re going to do our job. We’re not going to apologize for it. We’re going to do it professionally and we’re going to do it correctly.”
He said it’s the responsibility of DHS to protect about 9,000 federal facilities across the country, and they’ve been doing that job long before recent “civil unrest” popped up in places like Portland, Oregon.
“First and foremost, we want to work with them, and we have great working relationships with the vast majority of local law enforcement,” Mr. Wolf said. “However, there are some communities that, again, want to breed this environment that allows this lawlessness.”
Local leaders in Oregon have told the Trump administration to get out of Portland after federal agents were recently deployed there to protect federal property.
Oregon’s attorney general has also sued DHS, saying agents are using unmarked vehicles to detain the public without properly explaining the crime people are being accused of committing.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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