'We do not welcome it': Mayor de Blasio opposes Trump sending federal agents to NYC
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio said he will not allow President Trump to send federal law enforcement to New York City to protect property or deal with any unrest.
Trump said that federal law enforcement has done a good job in Portland and he was considering the same approach in other U.S. cities, including New York, where police "are restricted from doing anything."
De Blasio tweeted Monday evening that "We've seen the chaos secret police are creating in Portland. We won't let it happen here."
There have been days of unrest in Portland as demonstrations that have been taking place since the death of George Floyd continue to intensify. At one point last week, federal officers deployed tear gas and fired less-lethal rounds into a crowd of protesters in Oregon, hours after the head of the Department of Homeland Security visited Portland and called the demonstrators "violent anarchists."
"It has been a fiasco, sending in federal law enforcement agents totally backfired," de Blasio said in an interview with Spectrum News NY1. "It makes no sense. We have issues we have to work on here, but that's exactly what we're doing. And I have a lot of faith in the people of this city, more and more coming out to address our own challenges. I have a lot of faith in the NYPD but I do not have faith in the notion of just throwing in federal law enforcement for obviously political reasons - that always backfires."
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The mayor said NYC does not need outside help to protect public buildings from graffiti and it will all be cleaned up.
"But no, if he's trying to send in outside presence it's not because it's needed to protect those buildings," he said. "It's the same way he used ICE. He uses ICE as an extension of his reelection campaign, not to protect people. I have no illusions here. So we do not welcome it and it will not work."
The mayor said that anytime Trump has done things "that are illegal and unconstitutional," NYC has challenged him in court and won.
"And I think we'd see the same scenario here," de Blasio said.
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