PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration violated the 10th Amendment when it federalized and deployed the National Guard in Oregon.
On Sunday, Judge Karin Immergut issued a preliminary injunction, blocking deployment of the National Guard to Portland. The Friday ruling makes the previous order permanent.
This comes after a three-day trial in Portland before Judge Immergut on whether President Donald Trump can legally deploy National Guard members to Portland.
Judge Immergut’s order blocks Secretary Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Department of Defense, Kristi Noem and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from doing the following:
Federalizing and deploying the Oregon National Guard.Federalizing and deploying the Texas National Guard to Oregon.Deployment of federalized National Guard members from California and Texas to Oregon.Deploying any state’s National Guard to Oregon for the same reasons that were given for the above deployment orders.
However, the order does leave the Oregon National Guard federalized for 14 days, which “preserves the status quo in which National Guard members have been federalized but not deployed.”
In her decision, Judge Immergut, who was appointed by Trump to her position in 2019, wrote that:
“Defendants’ deployment of unlawfully federalized National Guard troops to Oregon also violated the Tenth Amendment. Under the Tenth Amendment, ‘[t]he powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.’ As discussed above with respect to standing, Defendants’ federalization and deployment of the Oregon National Guard commandeered these state officers to enforce a federal law enforcement program at the Portland ICE facility, in violation of the Tenth Amendment.”
Portland and state leaders respond
Oregon Attorney General Rayfield issued a statement on Friday:
“Today’s ruling is a huge victory for Oregon. The courts are holding this administration accountable to the truth and the rule of law,” Rayfield wrote. “From the beginning, this case has been about making sure that facts, not political whims, guide how the law is applied. Today’s decision protects that principle.”
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson applauded the decision in a Friday statement:
“As I have said from the beginning, the number of federal troops needed in our city is zero, and today’s court ruling vindicates Portland’s position while reaffirming the rule of law that protects our community. Portland values the Constitutional right to free speech, and we will defend those rights. We will continue fighting in court and working with state and community partners to ensure public safety, protect civil rights, and stand up for our immigrant community.”
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