Court Extends Ban on Trump’s Oregon Troop Deployment as Lawsuit Continues

U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut granted a preliminary injunction on Sunday, extending the pause she previously ordered, stopping the Trump Administration from deploying troops to Oregon from any state.

National Guard Deployment To Oregon Paused Again

Judge Immergut’s ruling was issued shortly before her previous order extending the block on Trump’s Portland troop plan, granted two weeks ago, expired. President Donald Trump was again blocked from sending National Guard troops from any state to Oregon until she issues a final decision in the underlying lawsuit, which she will hear this week.

In considering the extended Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), Judge Immergut noted that the concerns raised by the federal government in respect of a single building- the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in South Portland, did not satisfy the requirements for the federal code’s Title 10, Sec. 12406 and the 10th Amendment.

Title 10 provides that troops can be deployed in the case of a rebellion. A rebellion is formally defined as an “organized group engaged in armed hostilities for the purpose of overtaking an instrumentality of government by unlawful or antidemocratic means.”

There was neither a threat of rebellion nor an inability of “regular officers” to execute federal law due to the nightly protests since June outside the ICE facility.

The judge applied a high level of deference to the President’s determination that a predicate condition exists, but concluded that Trump’s invocation of Section 12406 was likely not made “in the face of the emergency and directly related to the quelling of the disorder or the prevention of its continuance.”

The plaintiffs, the State of Oregon and the City of Portland, also demonstrated a likelihood of irreparable harm if an injunction is not granted.

The judge noted that, if a plaintiff is likely to succeed on a constitutional claim, that will almost always demonstrate the plaintiff is suffering irreparable harm as well.

Judge Immergut intends to issue her final decision by the end of the day Friday, but her preliminary injunction suggests that she is likely to grant a permanent injunction.