US Federal Judge temporarily halts the deployment of the National Guard to Oregon News
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US Federal Judge temporarily halts the deployment of the National Guard to Oregon

A federal judge in Oregon on Saturday ordered a temporary restraining order preventing the deployment of the National Guard to Portland by the Trump administration.

Karin J. Immergut, the US District Judge on the case, noted that the matter between the State of Oregon and the President of the United States involves “the intersection of three of the most fundamental principles in our constitutional democracy,” namely the relationship between states and the federal government, relationship of the federal government with armed forces, and with the limitations imposed by the legislative branch.

According to the opinion, the president may federalize the National Guard in limited circumstances, including invasion, rebellion, or insufficiency of the regular forces to enforce federal law. This power, however, requires that orders be issued through state governors.

Additionally, the court held that while the President has broad authority under §12406(3), which allows him to federalize the guard when federal forces are unable to execute federal law, it must still be based on good faith. The court particularly held that there was no severe or ongoing violence in Portland for the guard to be federalized, and that federal agents needed no help from the military.

Lastly, the court argued that federalizing the Oregon National Guard without proper constitutional or statutory authority violated the Tenth Amendment. More specifically, the President’s act intruded on Oregon’s right to control its own guard, reserved under the amendment.

Trump attacked the judge, saying that Immergut should “be ashamed of herself.” According to the president, he was not served well by the people picking judges, expressing regret over Immergut’s appointment during his first term.

Tensions in Portland remain high following President Trump’s decision to deploy 200 Oregon National Guard troops to the city in late September, threats to deploy troops in several other states, and protests involving violence by federal agents in front of the city’s ICE facility.

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