Judge issues new order blocking Trump from bringing out-of-state troops to Oregon

A federal judge issued a new restraining order late Sunday barring the Trump administration from deploying other states’ National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, moving to head off President Trump’s end-run around a previous order.

Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, had previously barred the administration from federalizing Oregon’s guard, saying the unrest in Portland wasn’t severe enough to trigger the emergency powers the president was trying to use.

After the Defense Department signaled it would order other states’ guard troops to head to Oregon, Judge Immergut called an emergency hearing Sunday night and then issued her new blockade.

“Defendants are temporarily enjoined from deploying federalized members of the National Guard in Oregon,” she directed.

Mr. Trump ordered up troops after watching months of protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s regular presence in Portland. That builds on years of violent protests in the West Coast city, which during the first Trump administration shut down the ICE office for days amid one protest, and conducted nightly assaults on the federal courthouse in 2020, marking the most sustained Black Lives Matter violence in the country.

Judge Immergut said what’s going on now doesn’t rise to the level of disruption that would justify calling in National Guard troops.

And in her earlier ruling, she said Mr. Trump’s actions “risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power.”

The president said the protests have hindered ICE’s ability to carry out its duties, and he said he’s had to bring in federal agents from other jurisdictions to maintain service. He said that’s proof that the troops are needed.

The judge, though, said the federal government can bear some disruptions and she said that’s not a justification for the military to get involved.

The president had previously deployed troops to Los Angeles in June, citing disruptions of federal immigration enforcement. A district judge halted that, but the ruling was quickly upended by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Justice Department has already appealed Judge Immergut’s ruling to that same appeals court, which covers both California and Oregon.

For now, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek hailed Sunday’s ruling as a major win in an ongoing battle Democrats are waging against Mr. Trump.

“The rule of law must stand. This is not just about Oregon or a handful of states anymore — it’s about the integrity of our democracy,” she said.