A federal judge in Oregon on Saturday temporarily blocked the deployment of 200 National Guard troops to Portland.
U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut, an appointee of President Donald Trump, issued a temporary restraining order after Oregon and Portland sued. The order expires on Oct. 18 but could be extended.
Immergut wrote in her ruling that the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to call forth troops — the “militia” in the founding document — to execute laws, suppress an insurrection or repel an invasion. She wrote that Trump’s attempt to federalize the National Guard absent constitutional authority undermines the sovereign interests of Oregon.
“This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs,” Immergut wrote.
“This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law. Defendants have made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power — to the detriment of this nation,” she wrote.
The ruling is not the final say, but Immergut wrote that the plaintiffs showed a likelihood of success on the merits, justifying a temporary restraining order. It blocks the implementation of a Sept. 28 memo ordering the federalization and deployment of the Oregon National Guard.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said Saturday that “justice has been served, and the truth has prevailed.”
“There is no insurrection in Portland. No threat to national security. No fires, no bombs, no fatalities due to civil unrest. The only threat we face is to our democracy — and it is being led by President Donald Trump,” she said in a statement.
A White House spokesperson suggested the restraining order may be appealed.
“President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement — we expect to be vindicated by a higher court,” spokesperson Abigail Jackson said.
The ruling is a setback for the Trump administration as it seeks to use military troops in some Democratic-run cities.
A federal judge in California last month ruled that the Trump administration’s use of the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles was illegal.
In that case, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco ruled that the administration violated the Posse Comitatus Act — the 1878 law that prohibits the president from using the military as a domestic police force.
In the Portland case, the city and state sued on Sept. 28 to prevent the use of military troops in Portland, and they asked a federal court to stop the deployment to the city.
Hours after a Friday hearing before Immergut and before she had issued any ruling, U.S. Northern Command announced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had activated the 200 troops.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that Trump directed Hegseth to call the Oregon National Guard into federal service for 60 days to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other government personnel in the city.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said Saturday, “We’re in an incredibly dangerous place in America right now.”
He said the effort to deploy the National Guard “appears to be the president’s attempt to normalize the United States military in our cities.”
Portland is not the only U.S. city that Trump has targeted for the deployment of military troops.
On Sept. 15, Trump signed a memo ordering the National Guard to Memphis. Although Tennessee has a Republican government, the city’s mayor is a Democrat.
That order was also to send federal law enforcement agencies to Memphis in what Trump characterized as a crackdown on crime.
Trump said at that Sept. 15 signing that Chicago was “probably next.”
Governors have the authority to deploy their states’ National Guard. The Trump administration would be federalizing the National Guard to send troops to cities if the governor declines to do so.
On Saturday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said he was informed by the Trump administration that the Department of Defense plans to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard and deploy them within his state.
Pritzker said that he was given an ultimatum by Defense Department officials to “call up your troops, or we will.” Pritzker said he would refuse.
“I want to be clear: there is no need for military troops on the ground in the State of Illinois,” Pritzker said. “I will not call up our National Guard to further Trump’s acts of aggression against our people.”
There have been protests in Portland outside an ICE building after Trump signed a June 7 memorandum authorizing the federalization of the National Guard, Immergut wrote in Saturday’s order.
There was violence during some of the protests, but after June 25 they were mostly peaceful, she wrote.
“By late September, these protests typically involved twenty or fewer people,” Immergut wrote.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson defended his city Saturday after the ruling was issued.
“I just want everyone to know: Portland is a peaceful city. This narrative was manufactured,” he said.
