Judge blocks Trump administration from sending any National Guard troops to Oregon, for now

A federal judge late Sunday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying any National Guard units to Oregon, after a legal whirlwind that began hours earlier when the president sent California troops to Portland to protect federal buildings from ongoing protests.

During a hastily called telephone hearing, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut granted the temporary restraining order sought by California and Oregon.

A day earlier, the same judge temporarily blocked the administration from deploying Oregon National Guard troops to Portland. But on Sunday, the president moved to send National Guard troops to the state from neighboring California and then from Texas.

Immergut, who was appointed by Mr. Trump during his first term, issued her second, more sweeping order late Sunday after she upbraided the federal government’s attorney and questioned how the move to send the California and Texas troops to Oregon was not “in direct contravention of the order that was issued yesterday.”

The White House didn’t immediately comment on the judge’s decision.

Small protests have been going on nightly outside Portland’s immigration processing facility since Mr. Trump’s second term began in January. There have been occasional flare-ups, including in June, but for weeks the demonstrations attracted only a few dozen people – until the Trump administration mobilized the Oregon National Guard on Sept. 28 against Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s wishes.

A small number of demonstrators gathered Sunday evening cheered when they learned about the judge’s order.

Immergut issued Saturday’s order pending further arguments in a lawsuit brought by the state and city. She said the relatively small protests didn’t justify the use of federalized forces and allowing the deployment could harm Oregon’s state sovereignty.

Her Saturday ruling came after Mr. Trump called the city “war-ravaged.” Oregon officials and Portland residents alike said that description was ludicrous.

A Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement that about 200 federalized members of the California National Guard who had been on duty around Los Angeles were being reassigned to Portland. Kotek said about 100 arrived Saturday and around 100 more were en route 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 Saturday order 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 hadn’t 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 didn’t 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’d 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 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 post on X, he said California would sue to try to stop the deployment.

After Immergut’s late Sunday ruling, Newsom said on X that, “We just won in court — again. … Trump’s abuse of power won’t stand.”

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.

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.

Mr. 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.

Last month, Mr. Trump signed a presidential memorandum mobilizing federal law enforcement agents to Memphis, Tennessee, at the request of the Tennessee governor. 

National Guard troops also deployed to Illinois

The president has also ordered National Guard members from Texas to be deployed to Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker said Sunday evening.

In a post on X, Pritzker said 400 members of the Texas National Guard will be deployed to Illinois, Oregon, and other locations within the U.S.

“No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate. We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion. It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state’s military troops,” Pritzker said, calling Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to immediately withdraw any support for and to refuse to coordinate.

In response, Abbott said he “fully authorized” the deployment of his state’s troops “to ensure safety for federal officials.”