Federal Appeals Court Revisits Trump’s Attempt To Deploy National Guard in Portland
The judges in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals voted Tuesday night to have an 11-member panel consider whether President Trump can legally deploy the National Guard in Portland after Trump’s appeal against the second Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in Oregon’s lawsuit failed.
What Happened So Far In Trump’s Oregon National Guard Deployment To Portland Lawsuit
At the end of September, Portlanders noticed a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) armored cars coming and going from the Portland ICE facility.
On September 27, Trump called Portland ‘war-ravaged’ on social media and seized control over the Oregon National Guard, announcing that they were being deployed into Portland at the beginning of October.
Federal judge Immergut issued a TRO blocking the deployment of troops. In response, Trump placed the California National Guard under federal control and deployed these troops to Portland. Judge Immergut then issued a second TRO, and the troops returned to California.
Trump appealed the first TRO, but, while the court kept the Oregon National Guard federalized, it blocked Trump from deploying troops. After Trump filed an appeal against the second TRO in the 9th Circuit, the court also halted the National Guard Deployment to Oregon. However, the court must still hear the underlying case while the Ninth Circuit addresses the TROs.
9th Circuit Court Hearing On Oregon National Guard Deployment To Portland
A panel of 11 judges in the 9th Circuit will now decide whether the Trump administration has the authority to deploy the National Guard while legal proceedings are ongoing.
The judges will review the decision of the three judges who kept the TROs in place as the court considers an “En Banc” review that would require the approval of a majority of the Circuit’s 29 active judges.
The main lawsuit questioning whether the President has the legal authority to deploy National Guard Troops will be heard in a three-day federal district trial that starts Wednesday before Judge Immergut.
The State of Oregon and the City of Portland say Portland does not need additional federal protection and that the President doesn’t have the authority to federalize the National Guard.
The Trump administration says that Portland Police officers have not done enough to protect federal officers at the ICE facility and argues that Title 10 gives the President the authority to federalize and deploy a state’s National Guard.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield confirmed that there won’t be a federal deployment while these legal processes play out.