DES MOINES, IOWA (October 9, 2025) — Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird was joined by nineteen other attorneys-general as she filed emergency briefs supporting President Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, and by seventeen other attorneys-general supporting deployment of troops to Chicago to stop the violent attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and agents.
Violent agitators have rioted in the streets of Portland and Chicago outside ICE facilities under the false banner of protest. President Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard is the right response — and one the coalition fully supports.
“If you attack law enforcement, you must be held accountable,” said AG Bird.
“In Portland and Chicago, we’re seeing the results of bad policies and failed management that undermine the rule of law and law enforcement. When local and state officials won’t act, the federal government must.”
The attorneys-general stand united in condemning:
- Violent attacks on law enforcement and ICE facilities
- The normalization of mob violence as “activism”
- Any attempt to delegitimize efforts to restore order
- Leaders who put politics above public safety
Iowa, Montana, Oklahoma, and South Carolina co-led the brief in the Ninth Circuit and were joined by Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia.
Iowa, Montana, Oklahoma, and South Carolina co-led the brief in the Northern District of Illinois and were joined by Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia.
