A federal judge on Sunday put a temporary halt on the Trump administration’s plan to send National Guard units to Oregon, following a swift series of legal actions that started only hours after the president had already dispatched California troops to Portland to safeguard federal buildings amidst ongoing protests.
During an impromptu evening telephone hearing, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut approved the request for a temporary restraining order filed by California and Oregon.
The previous day, the same judge had temporarily stopped the administration from sending Oregon National Guard troops to Portland. However, on Sunday, the president acted to deploy National Guard troops to the state from California, and subsequently from Texas.
Immergut, who was appointed by Trump during his initial term, issued her second, more comprehensive order late Sunday, reprimanding the federal government’s attorney and questioning how initiating the transfer of the California and Texas troops to Oregon was not “in direct contravention of the order that was issued yesterday.”
The White House did not immediately comment on the judge’s decision.
Since Trump’s second term began in January, small protests have been occurring nightly outside Portland’s immigration processing facility. There have been isolated incidents, such as in June, but for weeks the protests drew only a small number of people – until the Trump administration deployed the Oregon National Guard on Sept. 28 against the wishes of Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek.
Trump administration sent California and Texas guard after judge blocked using Oregon troops
A Pentagon spokesperson mentioned in a statement that around 200 federalized members of the California National Guard who had previously been stationed around Los Angeles were being reassigned to Portland. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek stated that about 100 had arrived on Saturday, with approximately 100 more expected on Sunday.
The two states originally requested a narrower order that would have blocked only California National Guard troops from being sent to Oregon, but asked for the order to apply to all National Guard troops after a memo written by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was submitted to the court that said up to 400 Texas National Guard personnel were being activated for deployment to Oregon, Illinois and possibly elsewhere.
Immergut grilled lawyers for the federal government, accusing them of seeking an end run around her order Saturday blocking the deployment of National Guard troops in Oregon.
“How could bringing in federalized National Guard from California not be in direct contravention of the TRO I issued yesterday?” she said Sunday.
Immergut told one federal government attorney that he was “missing the point” because conditions on the ground in Oregon had not changed and she saw no legal basis and need for the military to assist local law enforcement.
Lawyers for the federal government tried to argue that Oregon and Portland did not have standing and that California could show no harm by having some of its National Guard dispatched to another state.
Scott Kennedy, the attorney representing Oregon, said he learned of the Texas National Guard mobilization just 24 minutes before the emergency hearing on Sunday night. “It feels a little bit like we’re playing a game of rhetorical whack-a-mole here,” he told Immergut.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a post on X Sunday night that he had authorized the call-up of guard troops from his state. “You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let Texas Guard do it,” he wrote.
The events in Oregon come a day after Illinois’ governor made a similar announcement about troops in his state being activated.
Kotek said the latest move by federal officials is an attempt to circumvent Saturday’s court ruling that blocked deployment of Oregon’s guard members.
“The facts on the ground in Oregon haven’t changed,” Kotek said during a news conference Sunday. “There’s no need for military intervention in Oregon. There’s no insurrection in Portland, there’s no threat to national security.”
California troops on the move
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement that personnel from his state were on their way Sunday and called the deployment “a breathtaking abuse of the law and power.” He said these troops were “federalized” and put under the president’s control months ago over his objections, in response to unrest in Los Angeles.
“The commander-in-chief is using the U.S. military as a political weapon against American citizens,” Newsom said.
In a related court filing, an attorney in the California Military Department said the U.S. Army Northern Command advised the department on Sunday that an order will be issued keeping the 300 guard personnel federalized through the end of January.
Portland’s protests are confined to one city block
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland has recently been the site of nightly protests. A small number of demonstrators gathered Sunday evening cheered when they learned about the judge’s order.
Immergut on Saturday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to deploy the Oregon National Guard in Portland to protect federal property amid protests after Trump called the city “war-ravaged.”
Oregon officials and Portland residents alike said that description was ludicrous. The protest was relatively small and localized to just one block of the city of 650,000 residents, Kotek said.
Immergut issued Saturday’s order pending further arguments in a lawsuit brought by the state and city. She said the relatively small protests did not justify the use of federalized forces and allowing the deployment could harm Oregon’s state sovereignty.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Trump’s move to deploy the National Guard of one state to another “is well outside of the norms or practices” of any president.
“But this President is determined to take as much power as the courts will give him. This fight isn’t over, but today’s rebuke of the President’s illegal actions is a step in the right direction,” Bonta said in a statement after Sunday night’s ruling.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said Sunday that he saw federal agents engaged in what he described as unjustified use of force and indiscriminately spraying pepper spray and impact munitions during a protest outside the ICE facility.
“This is an aggressive approach trying to inflame the situation that has otherwise been peaceful,” Wilson said.
Portland has alerted the civil rights division of the Department of Justice to the agents’ actions, Wilson said.
Troops also deployed to Illinois
Trump has characterized both Portland and Chicago as cities rife with crime and unrest. Since the start of his second term, he has sent or talked about sending troops to 10 cities.
Trump authorized the deployment of 300 Illinois National Guard troops to protect federal officers and assets in Chicago on Saturday.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said the situation in Chicago “does not require the use of the military and, as a result, the Governor opposes the deployment of the national guard under any status.” Pritzker didn’t receive any calls from federal officials about the deployment, his office said.
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