Federal Judge Halts Trump’s National Guard Deployment to Portland

Law enforcement officers stand in tear gas outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility during a protest on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Portland, Ore.

A federal judge in Oregon has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to Portland, ruling that the move likely exceeded presidential authority.

U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order on Saturday after the state of Oregon and the city of Portland filed suit. The order, which expires on October 18 unless extended, returns command of the Guard to Governor Tina Kotek.

Immergut wrote that Oregon officials were “likely to succeed” in their claim that the president violated the Tenth Amendment by federalizing the Guard without sufficient justification. She noted that while some clashes between protesters and federal officers had occurred, they did not rise to the level of a “rebellion” or a threat that local law enforcement could not handle.

The Trump administration has argued that the deployment was necessary to protect federal immigration facilities from what it described as “domestic terrorists.” The White House has already filed notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield welcomed the ruling, calling it “a healthy check on executive power.” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson also praised the decision, saying the city remained capable of managing its own public safety.

The case underscores ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and Democratic-led cities, where federal deployments have been met with legal challenges and accusations of government overreach.