A Donald Trump-appointed federal judge has blocked the president’s deployment of the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, ruling that the argument that the city was the site of civil unrest was “untethered to facts.”
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, who Trump appointed during his first term, argued that the deployment of troops to Oregon risked violating the Constitution, writing, “This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.”
Judge Immergut also found that the deployment was based on false claims about immigration authorities being the target of routine violence. Trump described Portland as “war-ravaged” in his post announcing the deployment of soldiers to the Democrat-controlled city.
“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists,” Trump said in his announcement.
“Whatever the factual basis the President may have for these allegations, nothing in the record suggests that anything of this sort was occurring ‘every night’ outside the Portland ICE building or in the City of Portland in the days or weeks leading up to his September 27 directive,” Immergut wrote in her decision.
“Defendants have made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power—to the detriment of this nation,” the judge concluded.
In a statement posted to social media, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek celebrated the decision, writing, “The federal court ruled in Oregon’s favor to block a military intervention in Portland. I believe the truth has prevailed. While this ruling is only the first step, it’s a step in the right direction.”
The truth has prevailed. The federal court ruled in Oregon’s favor to block a military intervention in Portland. While this ruling is only the first step, it’s a step in the right direction. Thanks to Attorney General Rayfield and his team for great work. https://t.co/nYwWlvDt9t
— Governor Tina Kotek (@GovTinaKotek) October 5, 2025
“We would hope that President Trump respects the court decision and the rule of law; we would hope that he reverses course. There is no insurrection in Portland, no threat to national security. The only threat we face is to our democracy, and that threat is being led by President Trump.”
The Trump administration has faced other hurdles in its attempt to deploy the National Guard to Democrat-controlled cities around the country, with one federal judge ruling last month that the deployment of soldiers to Los Angeles this summer was unlawful.
The Trump administration has also been sued by Washington D.C.’s attorney general over what he called a “hostile takeover” of the city’s police force by the federal government.
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