For weeks, if not months, there have been reports about anti-ICE protests and riots breaking out nightly in Portland, Oregon.

Local authorities are saying this is not the case, claiming that President Donald Trump was simply using old videos to justify sending in the National Guard.

Now, the local ICE office is claiming that the local police are doing little to help federal agents thwart legitimate threats.

Sending in the Guard

Earlier this week, Trump announced that he had already activated the National Guard in Portland.

He wrote, "We will never allow MOBS to take over our streets, burn our Cities, or destroy America.”

The president continued, "The National Guard is now in place, and has been dedicated to restoring LAW AND ORDER, and ending the Chaos, Death and Destruction! We are a Nation of LAW, and we will PREVAIL."

Democrats were furious, as all the local politicians could not run to the media quickly enough to slam Trump.

We don't want it

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson quickly found himself surrounded by numerous other state officials to show unity against Trump sending in the Guard.

He stated, "The number of troops we want is zero. The Oregon National Guard are our friends and neighbors. They are here when wildfires rage, or floods destroy, or overseas conflicts require their protection. That's their job, not this.”

Wilson continued, “When these volunteers answered the call to service, they made a solemn promise to their communities and nation that the federal administration is now dishonoring. The justification for their presence in our cities is either a misunderstanding, or a lie. I hope it is only a misunderstanding we can soon resolve."

According to local ICE authorities, that is not exactly the truth.

They won't help

Cammila Wamsley, director of Portland’s ICE office, claims that when ICE calls the local police to help against threats, they are slow to reply, if they reply at all.

She stated, "I just, I can’t figure out what’s happening at the FDA. I’m totally baffled by it. It’s frustrating for us to watch people be attacked on the street and know that we don’t have the authority to be able to really step in unless there’s some nexus to federal law."

Wamsley further stated that these protests are often turning violent, seeing rocks and other objects thrown at windows, with bottle rockets and lasers also being used in attempts to harm agents.

Portland is a sanctuary city, so local police are blocked from cooperating with immigration authorities, but that does not mean they should be leaving them hanging when they are under assault. It is because of nonsense like this that the U.S. Supreme Court needs to take up the question of sanctuary cities as soon as possible and decide their legality once and for all.