Portland, Ore. – A federal judge has temporarily barred the Trump administration from deploying 200 Oregon National Guard troops in Portland, Oregon, issuing a significant legal rebuke to the federal government’s recent move to federalize the state’s militia to protect federal buildings amid protests.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut ruled on Saturday to block the troop deployment, pending further court arguments in a lawsuit brought by the state of Oregon and the city of Portland. The lawsuit challenges the federal government’s authority and justification for the deployment, arguing it was an overreach that threatened state sovereignty.
Judge Immergut underscored the city’s relatively small protest activities as not warranting such a federal military response. She stated, “This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs.” She continued, “This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.”
The ruling highlighted the judge’s view that federalizing the National Guard troops without a clear and immediate need to enforce U.S. law in Portland violated long-held constitutional principles. While acknowledging that presidents typically have broad discretion in federalizing National Guard troops when state law enforcement is insufficient, Judge Immergut found that circumstance was not evident in Portland’s case given the small scale of recent protests.
The Trump administration had announced the decision to federalize 200 members of the Oregon National Guard for a 60-day period to guard federal buildings, including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, which has been the site of nightly protests. President Trump described Portland as “war-ravaged,” a characterization state and city officials decried as exaggerated and inaccurate, noting that recent protests rarely exceeded a few dozen people.
In response to the court’s temporary injunction, the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Saturday, signaling continued legal contestation over the troop deployment.
The state and city initially filed their lawsuit and sought a restraining order shortly after the federal announcement, asserting that the use of Title 10 authority to federalize the National Guard was unlawful and part of a broader, politically motivated effort to impose military force in select jurisdictions.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and Portland city officials have also spoken out against the federal action, describing the local National Guard members as neighbors and community members rather than agents for a militarized federal law enforcement approach.
This legal development marks an important moment amid ongoing national debates about federal versus state authority, law enforcement responses to protests, and the limits of military involvement in civil matters.
Reported by Associated Press contributors in Portland and Washington DC.