Judge Extends Block on Portland Troop Deployment

A federal judge in Oregon has extended temporary orders blocking President Trump from deploying the National Guard to patrol Portland as the president seeks to send troops into several Democratic-led cities.

U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut decided Wednesday to extend two temporary restraining orders she previously issued, which had been set to expire later this week, another 14 days.

The extension comes as a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit weighs whether to grant the Trump administration’s request to lift one of the orders keeping it from dispatching troops across the state.

Immergut, who was appointed to the bench by Trump during his first term, issued the back-to-back orders earlier this month.

She first ruled on Oct. 4 that the president could not federalize Oregon’s National Guard, and the next day, stopped him from sidestepping that order by calling in National Guard troops from other states to be deployed to Portland.

“This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law,” she wrote in the first of the two orders.

Immergut also set a three-day bench trial for Oct. 29, to consider whether a longer block is warranted.

On Sept. 27, Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide troops to protect Portland and Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the city. Hegseth issued a memo authorizing deployment and federalization of 200 Oregon National Guard members the next day, over Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s (D) objection.

Oregon and Portland officials jointly sued the administration to block the deployment, contending the move runs afoul of federal law governing the use of military forces and steps on the state’s sovereignty.

The administration argued that courts must give a “great level of deference” to the president’s determination to federalize the National Guard, but Immergut ruled that that deference is not equivalent to “ignoring the facts on the ground.” She found that Trump’s perception of the state-of-play in Portland was “simply untethered to the facts.”