About 200 people showed up to protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland on Sunday, September 28. The mostly peaceful protests have been ongoing since June, drawing significant attention and prompting legal action.
On Friday, a federal judge ruled that these protests do not qualify as a rebellion nor do they impede federal law enforcement. Consequently, President Donald Trump cannot legally send National Guard troops to federal buildings in Portland in response to the demonstrations.
Following an expedited three-day trial and a week of deliberation, U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut issued a comprehensive 100-page final decision in favor of the state of Oregon and the city of Portland. The suit was filed against President Trump and the federal government over their attempted deployment of National Guard troops to the city.
Judge Immergut, a Trump appointee, found that the President’s justification for the late September deployment—that protests outside the Portland ICE facility constituted a “rebellion” against the federal government and significantly impeded its functions—was unfounded.
Currently, 400 Oregon and California National Guard troops remain federalized and stationed at two military camps in Oregon since early October. However, they cannot be deployed within Oregon. According to Immergut, Oregon’s troops will remain federalized for at least 14 more days. This “preserves the status quo,” she wrote.
California’s National Guard troops were also federalized since June, with their federalization initially set to end in November. However, on October 16, Defense Secretary Pete Hegeseth extended the federalization through February 2, 2026. Lawyers for California argue that this extension was specifically to enable Trump to deploy troops on the streets of Portland.
The state of California later joined Oregon and the city of Portland in the lawsuit after the Trump administration sent troops from California to Oregon in early October to circumvent Judge Immergut’s initial order blocking the federalization of the Oregon National Guard.
Federal government lawyers have stated they intend to appeal any adverse decision by Judge Immergut to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In a preliminary ruling on Sunday, Judge Immergut signaled that she did not find the federal government’s claim of a “rebellion” in Portland credible. She also appeared to reject the argument that the judiciary lacks the authority to review the President’s decision under established court precedent.
In her final decision, Judge Immergut ruled that President Trump violated Section 12406 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code and the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. Section 12406 grants the President the power to federalize and deploy National Guard troops during invasion, rebellion, or when regular forces cannot execute federal laws. The Tenth Amendment reserves governance and policing powers not explicitly granted to the federal government to the states.
It has been just over a month since President Trump announced on social media his intention to deploy troops to “war ravaged” Portland. Since that announcement, he has federalized and attempted to deploy hundreds of National Guard members from Oregon, California, and Texas to the city.
A related case involving President Trump’s attempted deployment of Texas National Guard troops to Illinois is currently pending on the U.S. Supreme Court’s expedited schedule, often referred to as the “shadow docket.” A decision on that case is not expected until at least November 17, based on the Court’s most recent briefing schedule.
In his efforts to deploy National Guard troops to cities such as Los Angeles, Portland, and the Chicago area, President Trump has faced temporary blocks from three U.S. District Courts and the 7th and 9th Circuit Courts of Appeals.
The ongoing legal battles highlight the complex balance between federal authority and state rights, as well as the judiciary’s role in reviewing executive actions related to National Guard deployments.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/federal-judge-finds-trump-guard-011012627.html
