Deployment Blocked

A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump Administration from deploying 200 National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, on Saturday. 

Context

The Trump Administration had been deploying or threatening to deploy National Guard troops to several Democratic-led cities, citing crime and the need to protect federal immigration facilities. The administration previously sent or attempted to send troops to LA, Memphis, and DC. 

Federal law typically requires state governors to approve National Guard deployments within their borders, except in cases of rebellion or foreign invasion. Soldiers, including the national guard, are affected by the ongoing government shutdown, meaning they will work without pay until a budget agreement is reached, at which point they’ll receive back pay.

Deployment Blocked

A US district judge, appointed by Trump in 2019, issued a temporary restraining order on Saturday blocking the deployment of Oregon National Guard soldiers, ruling that the president exceeded his constitutional authority.

The judge found that Oregon and Portland were “likely to succeed on their claim that the President exceeded his constitutional authority and violated the Tenth Amendment.” The judge wrote that recent incidents at Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility “are inexcusable, but they are nowhere near the type of incidents that cannot be handled by regular law enforcement forces.”

Federal Justification

The administration had pointed to protests outside Portland’s ICE facility as justification for the deployment, describing them as “violent riots” by “Antifa domestic terrorists.”

Federal lawyers told the court that demonstrators had blocked the facility’s entrance, followed ICE agents home, and thrown objects at law enforcement. However, Portland police records showed that protests had been relatively small and peaceful in the weeks before Trump announced the deployment. The judge noted there was “substantial evidence that the protests at the Portland ICE facility were not significantly violent” before the president’s directive.

Illinois Deployment

The same day as the Portland ruling, President Trump authorized 300 National Guard troops for Chicago over the objection of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D). The White House said the troops would “protect federal officers and assets” amid what it called “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness.”

Earlier that day, Department of Homeland Security officials reported that federal agents shot an armed woman who they said rammed law enforcement vehicles during protests outside a Chicago-area ICE facility. Governor Pritzker called the deployment “absolutely outrageous and un-American,” stating there was no need for military troops in Illinois.