LOS ANGELES – A federal judge has temporarily stopped the Trump administration from sending National Guard units from California and Texas to Portland, Oregon, marking the second time the court has blocked the president’s efforts to use military force in the city.
The ruling, issued late Sunday by US District Judge Karin Immergut, comes just days after she rejected an earlier attempt to mobilize Oregon’s own National Guard without the state’s consent.
Portland, a city long in the spotlight over protests against immigration enforcement, has become a central focus of President Trump’s push to clamp down on what he calls “out-of-control crime” in Democratic-led cities.
The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that 200 California National Guard troops had already been reassigned to Portland to back up federal agents, including US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But both California and Oregon filed emergency motions to block the deployment, arguing that the move undermined state authority.
Judge Immergut agreed, saying there was no evidence that unrest in Portland warranted the use of federalised National Guard units. She questioned whether bringing in troops from other states was merely a way to sidestep her earlier decision.
“The use of military force in a state without its consent risks eroding state sovereignty and aggravating tensions,” she wrote.
The restraining order will remain in place until at least October 19, and the Trump administration is expected to appeal quickly.
Political fallout
The White House has not yet commented, but Trump aide Stephen Miller blasted the decision on X, calling it “one of the most egregious violations of constitutional order we’ve ever seen.”
Meanwhile, Illinois officials are pursuing a similar legal fight. On Monday, the state and the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit to block Trump’s plan to send 300 National Guard troops there.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul argued that Americans “should not live under the threat of occupation by the US military simply because their leaders clash with the president.” Governor JB Pritzker denounced the planned deployment as “Trump’s invasion,” saying it would spark more unrest and “create a warzone” in Chicago.
Pritzker urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to pull his state’s troops from the effort. Abbott refused, saying he fully backed Trump’s order to use the Texas Guard to protect federal officials.
Escalating unrest
Like Portland, Chicago has seen protests against Trump’s immigration policies, some of which turned violent over the weekend. Authorities said immigration agents opened fire on an armed woman after she and others rammed cars into law enforcement vehicles.
Trump has repeatedly clashed with Portland officials, accusing the city of harboring far-left activists whom he labels as Antifa. Last month, he signed an executive order branding the loosely organized movement a domestic terrorist group.
This latest clash comes after similar rulings earlier in the summer. In September, another federal judge in California ruled that Trump’s use of the National Guard in Los Angeles violated laws restricting the federal government’s ability to use military force domestically. That decision is also under appeal.
[Source: BBC News]