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The state of Oregon has sued several agencies over civil rights violations. The state's Department of Justice wants a restraining order that halts the tactics, among other demands.

Daryl Johnson, a former DHS analyst of right-wing extremism, said the deployment risked appearing as if DHS was arrayed against Americans exercising their constitutional freedoms. "When we're trying to instill trust in public relations, this isn't doing anything to foster that trust," he said.

Joining Merkley on the bill are Sen. Ron Wyden and Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, all Democrats. More than a dozen Congress members from other states also signed on as cosponsors.

On Monday, Oregon leaders, including Jeff Merkley, introduced new legislation in order to block the Trump administration from deploying federal officers in U.S.

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., reacts to the weekend clashes between federal law enforcement officials and demonstrators during protests against racial inequality in Portland.

Democratic Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon says the escalation of federal force against protesters is Trump's attempt to deflect from his "failed leadership."

The federal response has greatly concerned Oregon's representatives in Washington, D.C. Merkley and Ron Wyden, both Democratic senators, as well as Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer of the House of Representatives, have written U.S. Attorney General William Barr to demand answers into how the federal officers were deployed and the scope of their activities.