A federal judge late Sunday temporarily halted the Trump administration from deploying National Guard units to Oregon, escalating a legal and political showdown over the president’s attempts to use military force against protests in Portland.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, appointed by Trump during his first term, granted a temporary restraining order sought by the states of Oregon and California during an emergency evening hearing. The move came after the president redirected troops from California and Texas just hours after the same judge had blocked him from using Oregon’s own Guard units.
“How could bringing in federalized National Guard from California not be in direct contravention to the temporary restraining order I issued yesterday?” Immergut pressed the federal government’s lawyer during the tense session. “Aren’t defendants simply circumventing my order?”
The order blocks deployments for 14 days, with a hearing scheduled on October 17 to determine whether it should be extended. Arguments for a preliminary injunction, which would impose a longer-term restriction, are set for October 29.
The decision follows growing unrest outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. While protests have been limited to one city block, Trump has described the city as “war ravaged” and a “war zone,” citing images from 2020’s Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Local officials insist the situation is contained and accuse the administration of inflaming tensions with federal force.
On Saturday, federal agents fired tear gas at roughly 400 demonstrators outside the ICE site. By Sunday, around 200 California National Guard troops had been flown into Oregon under federal orders, sparking immediate legal pushback. A Defense Department memo revealed plans to mobilize up to 400 Texas Guard personnel for use in Oregon, Illinois, and beyond.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek hailed the ruling, saying Trump could “expect Oregon to stand up to him at every turn.” California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the president’s actions “outside the norms of any president,” warning the fight over his use of power was far from over.
Portland’s mayor, Keith Wilson, accused federal agents of unjustified force and said he had alerted the Justice Department’s civil rights division. “This is an aggressive approach trying to inflame the situation that has otherwise been peaceful,” he said.
For now, the temporary ruling represents a rare legal check on Trump’s increasingly aggressive deployment of military resources into cities that oppose his policies.
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