Trump blocked for now from sending troops Into Portland
Published in News & Features
The Trump administration can’t immediately deploy military troops in Portland, Oregon, in response to protests over the president’s immigration enforcement efforts, a federal judge ruled.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut said in an order Saturday that a restraining order will apply for 14 days blocking the federalization of Oregon National Guard members to Portland.
Separately on Saturday, President Donald Trump authorized 300 National Guard troops for deployment to Illinois, over the objection of state officials.
The case is the latest in a series of legal challenges over Trump’s use of National Guard troops to quell protests against his administration’s policies and to help police in Democrat-run cites that he claims have high crime rates.
State National Guard troops are under the control of individual governors, but the administration has argued that the president has the authority to federalize the troops in the event of a “rebellion” or “invasion.”
Trump has deployed guard troops in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee, and Los Angeles. A federal judge in California said the deployment in Los Angeles violated federal laws limiting the authority of the U.S. military to enforce civilian law, but the White House is appealing the ruling.
Oregon officials sued after the Trump administration ordered National Guard troops to respond to protests in Portland and protect immigration officials and federal property in the area.
When he mobilized the troops, Trump wrote that he was directing the Department of Defense to “provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland.” The president said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities are “under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.”
At a hearing Friday, Oregon lawyer Scott Kennedy blasted Trump’s public statements about Portland on Truth Social, saying they are not based in reality. In a post earlier this week, the president called the city “a NEVER-ENDING DISASTER.”
Kennedy described the protests at the ICE facility Portland in the days leading up to Trump’s post as “dwindling, relatively sedate.” The biggest protest was in June and was handled without federal troops, he said.
“The defense has not identified any inability to enforce the laws,” Kennedy said.
Eric Hamilton, a Justice Department lawyer, said the 200 proposed troops were appropriate for the level of violence in Portland, which was less than that seen in Los Angeles earlier this year.
In court filings, law enforcement leaders in Oregon argued that federal forces would probably create more problems than they would solve.
In response, the Trump argued the state’s request for court intervention was premature “before any Guardsmen have begun the mission.” But Justice Department lawyers also claimed that federal immigration agents have faced physical violence and death threats from “cruel activists,” including by erecting a guillotine outside of the Portland ICE office.
On Thursday, the judge initially assigned to the case recused himself from handling it after government lawyers alleged he may have a conflict of interest because of comments made by his wife, Democratic Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, that were critical of the deployment.
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon said in a written order he didn’t believe he was required under the circumstances to have the case re-assigned, but agreed to it because “it is necessary that the focus of this lawsuit remain on the critically important constitutional and statutory issues presented by the parties.”
(Zoe Tillman and Anthony Aarons contributed to this report.)
©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Comments