\n A federal judge will weigh Friday whether to grant a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops into Oregon \u2013 the latest step in one of several challenges to Trump\u2019s effort to crack down on Democratic-led cities he claims are stricken by crime and disorder.\n <\/p>\n
\n Oregon and Portland officials jointly sued the administration this week after Trump announced he would send the National Guard to protect \u201cwar-ravaged\u201d Portland<\/a>. The state says the order is illegal and has called the president\u2019s portrayal of the city \u201cwildly hyperbolic.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Trump and his administration have cited weekslong demonstrations outside the Portland ICE facility, framing them as \u201cviolent riots\u201d tied to \u201cAntifa domestic terrorists.\u201d Local officials have disputed this, claiming in the lawsuit that protests were small until the president\u2019s National Guard announcement brought renewed attention to them.\n <\/p>\n \n Demonstrations this week got more tense as ICE supporters came to the scene for counterprotests. Conservative influencer Nick Sortor was arrested<\/a> late Thursday, along with two others, on suspicion of disorderly conduct for what police said was a physical fight. He was released hours later without bond.\n <\/p>\n \n Trump\u2019s maneuver in Portland follows similar efforts in Washington, DC, Los Angeles and Memphis \u2013 a push met with impassioned pushback from Democratic leaders nationwide who argue the moves are politically motivated and lack justification.\n <\/p>\n \n About 200 Oregon National Guard soldiers have been mobilized as part of the operation, according<\/a> to the Oregon Military Department.\n <\/p>\n \n US District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump nominee, will preside over Friday\u2019s hearing in federal court. The initial judge in that case, US District Judge Michael Simon, recused himself Thursday after the Justice Department expressed concerns over comments critical of troop deployment made by his wife, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, a Democrat.\n <\/p>\n \n The lawsuit argues this use of Oregon\u2019s National Guard for civilian law enforcement does not fall within the narrow circumstances<\/a> \u2013 including \u201crebellion\u201d or invasion by a foreign nation \u2013 under which the president has the power to call state troops into federal action. Federal law says orders for this type of action should be made<\/a> through state governors.\n <\/p>\n \n The Trump administration has said its goal is to safeguard US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities from demonstrators.\n <\/p>\n \n But the move is part of Trump\u2019s wider plan to use the military to intensify his national crime crackdown, a person familiar with White House strategy told CNN<\/a>. The protection of ICE facilities provides the administration with a good pretext for the deployment, the source said.\n <\/p>\n \n It is unclear whether the National Guard is in Portland.\n <\/p>\n \n Trump said Wednesday the National Guard \u201cis now in place\u201d in Portland. But local officials have not confirmed troops\u2019 presence, and Portland Police Bureau Chief Bob Day suggested they are not.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe believe they\u2019ll probably be deployed in the coming days, but they\u2019re not in place right now,\u201d Day told CNN\u2019s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday evening. \u201cThey\u2019re receiving some additional training.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The Guard troops deployed to Portland will first spend several days at a facility nearly 100 miles away from the site of the protests to prepare and train, Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley told CNN affiliate KGW<\/a> on Wednesday.\n <\/p>\n \n City leaders have expressed concern the presence of the National Guard could whip up more fervent protests and stoke new unrest.\n <\/p>\n