A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying California National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, halting a last-minute effort by the White House to protect federal immigration facilities after earlier attempts to use Oregon’s own troops were shut down.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued the temporary restraining order during an emergency hearing requested by officials in Oregon and California. The order bars the use of any National Guard troops in Portland for at least 14 days, including those drawn from California units already operating under federal authority.
The ruling followed a decision just one day earlier, in which the same judge halted the administration’s attempt to federalize Oregon’s National Guard under Title 10 to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel in downtown Portland.
Immergut, appointed during the first term of the Trump administration, stated that there was no evidence to suggest that recent protests necessitated the presence of National Guard troops, regardless of their origin.
“How could bringing in federalized National Guard from California not be in direct contravention of the (decision) I issued yesterday?” Immergut asked Justice Department attorney Eric Hamilton during Sunday’s hearing.
“Is there any legal authority for what you are doing?”
The Department of Justice argued that President Trump was acting within his legal authority under Title 10, Section 12406 of the U.S. Code, which permits the federalization of National Guard troops when deemed necessary to enforce federal law or protect federal property. DOJ attorneys maintained that rising threats to ICE personnel and federal buildings in Portland met that threshold.
After Immergut’s initial Saturday ruling blocked the deployment of Oregon Guard troops, the administration pivoted by redirecting 200 California Guard members stationed in Los Angeles to Portland. Defense officials confirmed the reassignment, saying the troops had been under federal orders for months and could be lawfully deployed across state lines without the consent of California’s governor.
“The Trump Administration is unapologetically attacking the rule of law itself and putting into action their dangerous words—ignoring court orders and treating judges, even those appointed by the President himself, as political opponents,” Newsom said in his statement.
“The commander-in-chief is using the U.S. military as a political weapon against American citizens. We will take this fight to court, but the public cannot stay silent in the face of such reckless and authoritarian conduct by the President of the United States.”
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said the administration’s move to bring in California troops constituted a transparent attempt to evade judicial oversight, according to documents filed in court.
The Trump administration contended that ICE facilities in Portland had been the target of repeated attacks and threats in recent weeks, and that the Guard’s presence was meant to supplement existing federal law enforcement, not engage in direct policing. Officials emphasized that Guard personnel would be limited to securing the perimeter of federal buildings and would not participate in arrests or crowd control.
“There is no legal distinction between a state volunteering guardsmen to guard the border and volunteering guardsmen to guard a federal immigration facility,” Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff on Policy and Homeland Security Advisor, said in a post on X. “Either we have a federal government, a supremacy clause, and a nation, or we don’t.”
However, Judge Immergut was not persuaded that the administration’s revised plan sufficiently differed from the original, which she had already blocked. She wrote in Sunday’s ruling that changing the origin of the troops does not change the nature of the mission or the legal questions at stake.
This is not the first time Trump’s use of National Guard troops has been challenged in court. Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled against the administration’s deployment of Guard personnel to Los Angeles to support illegal immigration raids, finding that the mission violated provisions of the Posse Comitatus Act. That case is under appeal.
Legal scholars say the current dispute could test the boundaries of presidential authority over state-based military forces, particularly when state leaders object to the mission. Although National Guard units can be federalized during emergencies, governors typically retain control unless Congress or the courts intervene.
The restraining order issued Sunday marks a temporary pause in the Portland deployment. A full hearing is scheduled for later this month, during which the court will consider whether to issue a longer injunction. In the meantime, Portland’s ICE facility remains under the protection of Department of Homeland Security personnel and local police.
The Department of Justice declined to comment on the ruling. The White House said it is reviewing legal options and remains committed to “protecting federal personnel from violent threats,” according to a statement provided to Reuters.
