A federal judge in Oregon has delivered a significant ruling regarding former President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Portland in September. The decision, made by U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut, a judge appointed by Trump, came after a thorough three-day trial where arguments focused on whether the protests at Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building justified military intervention under federal law.

The Trump administration had justified the deployment by asserting the need to protect federal personnel and property, characterizing Portland as a city besieged by chaos and widespread fires. However, Judge Immergut’s decision challenges this narrative, outlining that Trump did not fulfill the legal criteria required for such an action.

In her comprehensive 106-page opinion, Judge Immergut acknowledged that while the president traditionally enjoys considerable leeway in deciding to mobilize the National Guard, Trump failed to establish a legally valid reason. Specifically, he did not demonstrate the presence of a rebellion or a substantial threat of one, nor did he prove that the situation could not be handled by existing law enforcement forces.

The opinion highlighted the trial’s findings, noting that although protests occurred nightly outside the ICE building from June to October 2025, they had largely been peaceful following a few turbulent days in mid-June. Immergut emphasized that instances of violence were isolated and sporadic, and any disruptions to federal officers were minimal. Moreover, there was no substantial evidence indicating that these protests significantly obstructed the enforcement of immigration laws.

‘The trial record showed that although protests outside the Portland ICE building occurred nightly between June and October 2025, ever since a few particularly disruptive days in mid-June, protests have remained peaceful with only isolated and sporadic instances of violence,’ Immergut wrote. 

‘The occasional interference to federal officers has been minimal, and there is no evidence that these small-scale protests have significantly impeded the execution of any immigration laws.’

The Trump administration criticized the judge’s ruling.

A federal judge in Oregon has ruled that Donald Trump did not meet legal requirements when he deployed the National Guard to Portland in September

The administration said the troops were needed to protect federal personnel and property in a city that Trump described as ‘war ravaged’ with ‘fires all over the place’

‘The facts haven´t changed. Amidst ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, that local leaders have refused to step in to quell, President Trump has exercised his lawful authority to protect federal officers and assets’ said Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman.

‘President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities and we expect to be vindicated by a higher court.’

‘The courts are holding this administration accountable to the truth and the rule of law,’ Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in an e-mailed statement. 

‘From the beginning, this case has been about making sure that facts, not political whims, guide how the law is applied. Today´s decision protects that principle.’

Trump’s administration has said the troops are needed to protect federal property from protesters and that having to send extra Department of Homeland Security agents to help guard the property meant they were not enforcing immigration laws elsewhere.

Oregon officials, meanwhile, have argued that Portland police have handled the protests and crowd control outside of the ICE facility appropriately, and have said that demonstrators who break the law are regularly arrested.

The small nightly protests, limited to a single block, have been ongoing since June.

At times, larger crowds including counter-protesters and live streamers, have shown up and federal agents have had to deploy tear gas to disperse the crowds.

demonstrator is detained outside a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility

Democratic cities targeted by Trump for military involvement – including Chicago, which has filed a separate lawsuit on the issue – have been pushing back. 

They argue the president has not satisfied the legal threshold for deploying troops and that doing so would violate states´ sovereignty.

Immergut issued two orders in early October that had blocked the deployment of the troops leading up to the trial. 

The first order blocked Trump from deploying 200 members of the Oregon National Guard; the second, issued a day later, blocked him from deploying members of any state’s National Guard to Oregon, after he tried to evade the first order by sending California troops instead.

Immergut has called Trump’s apocalyptic descriptions of Portland ‘simply untethered to the facts.’

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has already ordered that the troops not be deployed pending further action by the appeals court. 

The trial Immergut held further developed the factual record in the case, which could serve as the basis for further appellate rulings.

Witnesses including local police and federal officials were questioned about the law enforcement response to the nightly protests at the city´s ICE building. 

People watch as others dance near a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility

Federal officials working in the region testified about staffing shortages and requests for more personnel that have yet to be fulfilled

The demonstrations peaked in June, when Portland police declared one a riot. The demonstrations typically drew a couple dozen people in the weeks leading up to Trump´s National Guard announcement.

The Trump administration said it has had to shuffle federal agents from elsewhere around the country to respond to the Portland protests, which it has characterized as a ‘rebellion’ or ‘danger of rebellion.’

Federal officials working in the region testified about staffing shortages and requests for more personnel that have yet to be fulfilled. 

Among them was an official with the Federal Protective Service, the agency within the Department of Homeland Security that provides security at federal buildings, whom the judge allowed to be sworn in as a witness under his initials, R.C., because of safety concerns.

R.C., who said he would be one of the most knowledgeable people in DHS about security at Portland´s ICE building, testified that a troop deployment would alleviate the strain on staff. 

When cross-examined, however, he said he did not request troops and that he was not consulted on the matter by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem or Trump. He also said he was ‘surprised’ to learn about the deployment and that he did not agree with statements about Portland burning down.

Attorneys for Portland and Oregon said city police have been able to respond to the protests. 

After the police department declared a riot on June 14, it changed its strategy to direct officers to intervene when person and property crime occurs, and crowd numbers have largely diminished since the end of that month, police officials testified.

The ICE building closed for three weeks over the summer because of property damage, according to court documents and testimony. 

The regional field office director for ICE´s Enforcement and Removal Operations, Cammilla Wamsley, said her employees worked from another building during that period. 

The plaintiffs argued that was evidence that they were able to continue their work functions.