A federal judge ruled Friday that Donald Trump “exceeded the president’s authority” when he sent federalized National Guard troops to Portland.
In a 106 decision, Trump-appointed Federal District Judge Karin Immergut made permanent an order she issued last month blocking the deployment in the city.
“The evidence demonstrates that these deployments, which were opposed by Oregon’s governor and were not requested by federal officials in charge of protecting the ICE building, exceeded the president’s authority,” the judge wrote.
Federal officers line up as people participate in a protest organized by Portland Against Deportations, at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland, Oregon, U.S., on October 25, 2025.
John Rudoff/Reuters
After a three-day trial, Immergut rejected the Trump administration’s argument that immigration-related protests amounted to rebellion or danger of rebellion, the standard necessary to justify a federal takeover of the National Guard.
“In considering these conditions that persisted for months prior to the President’s federalization of the National Guard, this Court concludes that even giving great deference to the President’s determination, the President had no legal basis to federalize the National Guard,” he wrote.
As Trump threatened to send the National Guard to Democratic-run cities across the country, Immergut acknowledged the magnitude of the problem in his order and wrote that the legal question was destined for a higher court.
“The ‘precise standard’ for demarcating the line beyond which conditions would meet the legal standard for deploying the military on the streets of American cities is ultimately a question for a higher court to decide,” he wrote.
In late September, Trump issued an order federalizing 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to protect federal property. amid ongoing protests at an ICE facility in Portland, despite objections from local officials.
The city of Portland and the state of Oregon sued.
Around the same time, Trump attempted to deploy Civil Guard troops to Chicago, a move that was also opposed by local officials and blocked by the courts.
