Oregon judge temporarily blocks deployment of the National Guard to Portland
A federal judge in Oregon has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from sending the National Guard to Portland after the president said he would send troops to the city to handle "domestic terrorists."
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued the temporary restraining order, which is set to expire on Oct. 18, according to court records.
The plaintiffs say a deployment would violate the U.S. Constitution as well as a federal law that generally prohibits the military from being used to enforce domestic laws.
Immergut wrote that the case involves the intersection of three fundamental democratic principles: "the relationship between the federal government and the states, between the military and domestic law enforcement, and the balance of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
"Whether we choose to follow what the Constitution mandates with respect to these three relationships goes to the heart of what it means to live under the rule of law in the United States," she wrote.
Generally speaking, the president is allowed "a great level of deference" to federalize National Guard troops in situations where regular law enforcement forces are not able to execute the laws of the United States, the judge said.
However, she concluded that in the situation in Portland, the president "did not have a 'colorable basis' to invoke § 12406(3) to federalize the National Guard because the situation on the ground belied an inability of federal law enforcement officers to execute federal law."
Plaintiffs were able to show that the demonstrations at the Portland immigration facility were not significantly violent or disruptive in the days or weeks leading up to the president's order, the judge wrote, and "overall, the protests were small and uneventful."
The judge added that, "The President's determination was simply untethered to the facts."
The Defense Department had said it was placing 200 members of Oregon's National Guard under federal control for 60 days to protect federal property and personnel at locations where protests are occurring or likely to occur after Trump called the city "war-ravaged."
The state of Oregon filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last Sunday following the president's announcement that he would send troops to Portland. The lawsuit argued that Mr. Trump lacks the authority to federalize the National Guard.
Following the ruling, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson indicated an appeal was likely, saying in a statement that "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."
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield called the ruling "a healthy check on the president."
"It reaffirms what we already knew: Portland is not the president's war-torn fantasy. Our city is not ravaged, and there is no rebellion," Rayfield said in a statement. He added: "Members of the Oregon National Guard are not a tool for him to use in his political theater."
"Today's outcome is proof that Portlanders' commitment to peaceful expression and civic unity truly matters," Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement Saturday following the ruling. "We have not met aggression with aggression. We've stood firm, calm and grounded in our shared values and that is why this decision went our way. Portland has shown that peace is power."
Then on Sunday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said the Trump administration was sending 300 members of the California National Guard to Oregon, calling it a "breathtaking abuse of the law and power" and pledging to sue.
"The Trump Administration is unapologetically attacking the rule of law itself and putting into action their dangerous words — ignoring court orders and treating judges, even those appointed by the President himself, as political opponents," Newsom said in a statement.
On Sunday, Jackson confirmed that California troops were being deployed to Portland, saying the president was exercising "his lawful authorities to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement."
The president previously deployed the National Guard in Los Angeles in June amid heated protests over immigration raids in a move that prompted a lawsuit from Newsom, who called it an illegal "power grab." A federal court ruled last month that the Trump administration violated federal law with the deployment.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has pushed back on Mr. Trump's plans to send troops to Portland and told reporters at a news conference last week that the city "is a far cry from the war-ravaged community he has posted on social media."
Earlier in September, Mr. Trump had described living in Portland as "like living in hell."
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland has been the site of nightly protests, and the demonstrations and occasional clashes with law enforcement. A handful of immigration and legal advocates often gather at the building during the day. At night, recent protests have typically drawn a couple dozen people.
The order on Saturday comes after a broader effort from the administration in what Mr. Trump has characterized as a crackdown on crime in Democratic-led cities.
Along with Mr. Trump's deployed of the National Guard to Los Angeles over the summer, he also did so and as part of his law enforcement takeover in the District of Columbia.
On Saturday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said that the Trump administration intends to federalize 300 Illinois National Guard members after he was offered an ultimatum to deploy the troops himself but refused.
Last month, Mr. Trump signed a presidential memorandum mobilizing federal law enforcement agents to Memphis, Tennessee, at the request of the Tennessee governor.