In a move that does not change the situation on the ground in Portland, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily lifted a lower court’s order blocking the deployment of Oregon National Guard troops to the city.
However, a broader order that prohibits any state’s National Guard from deploying into Portland remains in effect.
The administrative stay only applies to Saturday’s order from U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut prohibiting the deployment of the Oregon National Guard into the Portland area. The Ninth Circuit did not consider the strength of either side’s legal argument, only issuing a stay to minimize harm while the court deliberates.
Immergut’s more sweeping order from Sunday night – which prohibits any state’s National Guard from going into Portland – remains in effect. The Trump administration has not formally appealed or challenged the Sunday order.
“In the circumstances here, granting an administrative stay will best preserve the status quo. Prior to the October 4 temporary restraining order, Oregon National Guard members had been federalized but not deployed,” the court wrote.
The Ninth Circuit is hearing oral arguments for a stay pending appeal on Thursday.
On Sunday, during an unusual late-night hearing, Immergut said she was “troubled” by the Trump administration’s attempt to work around her earlier court order prohibiting the deployment of the Oregon National Guard to Portland.
Her order on Saturday concluded that conditions in Portland were “not significantly violent or disruptive” to justify a federal takeover of the National Guard, and that the president’s claims about the city were “simply untethered to the facts.”
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