PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A group of lawmakers, including Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), are urging a watchdog office to investigate the Trump administration’s military deployments to American cities.

In a letter sent Friday to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, the senators asked for an inquiry into recent deployments of National Guard troops to Portland, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Memphis.

In their letter, the senators argued that the deployments are unlawful, undermine military readiness and politicize the military.

“We write to express our concern about the deployment of U.S. troops to American cities, including in Los Angeles; Washington, DC; Portland; Chicago; and Memphis. The military’s expanded use to support immigration operations and domestic law enforcement activities at home is fundamentally unconstitutional, dangerous for American civil rights, and risks straining military readiness and resources, weakening troop morale, undermining recruitment and retention, and eroding public trust in the military,” the senators wrote. 

“Neither the active-duty military nor the National Guard are intended or trained at scale for the purposes that the Administration has claimed they are used for, including ‘crime-fighting.’  We are concerned that these domestic deployments erode the military’s and National Guard’s ability to prepare for their critical missions,” the senators added.

“We urgently request that you initiate an inquiry into the cumulative effects of these domestic deployments of U.S. active-duty troops and the National Guard—over the objections of state and local officials—on military readiness, resources, personnel, and our military as an institution,” the senators requested.

The letter comes amid the Trump administration’s efforts to deploy National Guard troops to certain cities, claiming the forces are needed to quell protests and protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.

The same day the senators sent the letter, the Trump administration filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, asking the high court to allow the deployment of troops to the Chicago area, as reported by the Associated Press.

In their letter, however, the senators argue that the deployments could be a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act — a nearly 150-year-old law that limits the military’s role in enforcing domestic laws, as reported by AP.

AP notes, President Trump has claimed he could invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows presidents to deploy the military to states unable to address insurrection or that are defying federal law.

“Several federal courts have found no credible evidence that the Administration’s use of the military in this way is justified, finding that conditions on the ground have not reached the high threshold of crisis that merits such a militarized response, especially over the objection of local officials,” the senators wrote. “Further, the Trump Administration’s unprecedented deployment of out-of-state Guard personnel into a non-consenting jurisdiction is a significant overreach of executive power.”

The senators are asking the Inspector General’s Office to report its findings to Congress by November 21.

The letter was also signed by just over two dozen senators, including Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

In a statement shared with KOIN 6 News, a Pentagon official said, “As with all congressional correspondence, the Department will respond directly to the authors.”

KOIN 6 News has reached out to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General. This story will be updated if we receive a response.

The letter comes days after a judge extended a temporary restraining order to keep National Guard troops away from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in South Portland.

U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut ruled in favor of the orders earlier in October, saying the relatively small protests in Portland do not justify the use of federalized forces. She also said allowing the deployment could harm Oregon’s state sovereignty.