PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A federal judge on Sunday night issued a second temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Oregon, this time from any state, The Associated Press reported, as protests in the state’s largest city continued.
The judge’s ruling came after the Trump administration ordered 400 members of the Texas National Guard to deploy to several states, including Oregon, as well as 300 from California. Both states then asked the judge to block the Trump administration’s moves.
During a hastily called evening telephone hearing, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut granted a temporary restraining order sought by the two states.
Immergut, who was appointed by Trump in his first term, seemed incredulous that the president moved to send National Guard troops to Oregon from neighboring California and then from Texas on Sunday, just hours after she had ruled the first time.
“How could bringing in federalized National Guard from California not be in direct contravention to the temporary restraining order I issued yesterday?” she questioned the federal government’s attorney, cutting him off.
“Aren’t defendants simply circumventing my order?” she said later. “Why is this appropriate?”
The White House did not immediately comment on the judge’s decision.
Oregon Leaders Respond to Ruling
In a joint news release late Sunday night after the latest ruling, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said the ruling again affirmed that Trump does not have the authority to deploy troops to Oregon under the circumstances.
Kotek called Trump’s actions a “misuse of states’ National Guard.”
“The rule of law must stand. This is not just about Oregon or a handful of states anymore — it’s about the integrity of our democracy,” she said. “President Trump’s actions are an effort to occupy and incite cities and states that don’t share his politics, and I believe that we should expect him to continue to push the limits of his authority.”
She said the state remained united and urged everyone to “stay calm, stay together, stay strong.”
“The federal government kept pushing the line — and in response, we asked the court to bar the deployment of any state’s National Guard. That tells you everything you need to know about how serious this is,” Rayfield said.
He again reiterated what he and other leaders in Oregon have said over the last week: There is no need for the National Guard to be deployed in Oregon.
“The President cannot keep playing whack-a-mole with different states’ Guard units to get around court orders and the rule of law,” Rayfield said.
Wilson echoed that sentiment.
“The court affirmed what common sense tells us: if Portland does not need federal troops from Oregon, then we do not need federal troops from California – or anywhere else,” he said. “Our local police officers are focused on protecting Portlanders’ right to protest peacefully and keeping our community safe. Federal troops will not make our community safer, period.”
Earlier Sunday, Kotek’s office said the Oregon National Guard had informed the governor that Guard members from Texas were preparing to deploy to Oregon, Illinois “and other locations throughout the United States.”
The governor said she had received no explanation from President Donald Trump or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the specific reason for the deployment of Texas National Guard troops.
On Saturday, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, blocking Trump’s authorization of Oregon National Guard troops to be deployed in the state including in Portland, where there have been nightly protests at the ICE facility.
The Trump administration said it will appeal the ruling.
On Sunday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Trump administration had ordered 300 members of California’s National Guard to Oregon. Kotek said 101 federalized troops had arrived in Oregon from California on Saturday night and more were on the way.
Oregon and California originally requested a narrower order that would have blocked only California National Guard troops from being sent to Oregon, but asked for the order to apply to all National Guard troops after a memo written by Hegseth was submitted to the court that said up to 400 Texas National Guard personnel were being activated for deployment to Oregon, Illinois and possibly elsewhere.
A hasty court hearing
At the emergency hearing late Sunday, Immergut grilled the attorney for the federal government and accused them of seeking an end run around her order from the day before that temporarily blocked the deployment of National Guard troops in Oregon.
Scott Kennedy, the attorney representing Oregon, said he learned of the Texas National Guard mobilization just 24 minutes before the emergency hearing on Sunday night.
“It feels a little bit like we’re playing a game of rhetorical whack-a-mole here,” he told Immergut.
Lawyers for the federal government tried to argue that Oregon and Portland did not have standing and that California could show no harm by having some of its National Guard dispatched to another state.
Immergut issued a temporary order that expires in 14 days unless it is extended at a hearing set for Oct. 17. Arguments for a preliminary injunction — a more permanent block on sending federalized National Guard troops to Oregon — are set for Oct. 29.
In a related court filing, an attorney in the California Military Department said the U.S. Army Northern Command advised the department on Sunday that an order will be issued keeping the 300 guard personnel federalized through the end of January.
The events in Oregon came a day after Illinois’ governor made a similar announcement about troops in his state being activated.
Protests and Arrests Continue in Portland
Meanwhile, protests outside of the ICE facility in South Portland continued through Sunday night.
KATU crews witnessed at least three people being taken into custody, the deployment of pepper balls and other chemical crowd control devices, as well as an ambulance entering and leaving the facility.
People both for and against the deployment of the National Guard stood outside the facility; one side shouting at ICE agents, the other side thanking agents for their work.
There were numerous clashes between protesters.
Many protesters say they will continue to show up to represent their cause for as long as they see fit, including Leilani Payne, who was pepper sprayed in the face by ICE agents Thursday night while protesting.
“I will not stop, and I want this building gone,” Payne said. “I want to see those officers face crime and time because it is disgusting how they’ve been trading us for the past couple of months.”
Activity outside the ICE facility Sunday followed more than a week of numerous incidents between protesters and agents. Numerous arrests were made.
One of the arrests this week involved conservative influencer Nick Sortor, who was arrested on Thursday night on suspicion of disorderly conduct.
Sortor has a court hearing Monday and explained to KATU crews Sunday night near the ICE facility why he believes the deployment of federal troops to Portland is justified.
“What you have here is you have resources that are being taken up that could be used for actual federal law enforcement purposes,” Sortor said. “These guys, like ICE agents, border patrol agents, are being used to guard the facility out here rather than being out in the field, right? The National Guard should be deployed to guard the facility while agents are allowed to do jobs that they’re prescribed to do.”
Sortor expressed frustrations with Portland police, saying they had not given substantial evidence when it came to his arrest, and he said he plans to fight the case through to the end.
Portland Police Chief Bob Day said his team of officers has been “consistent and transparent” when it comes to arrests during these ongoing protests.
“When talking about this weeks’ arrest of Nick Sortor, that’s where we need to start bringing the temperature down, because we are seeing all of these different perspectives and all of these different opinions gather in this small, one block area, and then unable to manage that in an appropriate way, so we have these acts of violence, we have these fights, we have these assaults,” he said.