On Wednesday, writing for The Washington Post, columnist Greg Sargent reported that former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who served under President George W. Bush, is condemning the use of the DHS to suppress protests in Portland, Oregon.
“In my view, this is damaging to the department,” said Chertoff. “It undermines the credibility of the department’s principal mission.” He added that the raids were "very problematic" and "very unsettling."
This comes after Tom Ridge, another GOP Homeland Security Secretary under Bush and the first person to ever lead the agency, also condemned the Trump administration's policy in an interview with radio host Michael Smerconish: "The department was established to protect America from the ever-present threat of global terrorism. It was not established to be the president’s personal militia."
The deployment of heavily-armed DHS officers from a number of different department agencies to Portland has inflamed tensions, re-galvanizing protesters and drawing criticism from around the country. A recent report said the DHS is scrambling to train the officers against violating First Amendment rights of protesters.
