Judge
Rules Trump Administration Failed to Meet Legal Requirements for Deploying
Troops to Portland
FILE - People protest outside a U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement facility as law enforcement officers walk out of the gates
to guard vehicles leaving the facility on October 11, 2025, in Portland, Oregon
(AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
Posted: November 9, 2025 --- Associated
Press | By CLAIRE RUSH and GENE JOHNSON
Published November 8, 2025, at 7:16am
ET
PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — A federal judge in Oregon ruled
Friday that Trump’s administration failed to meet the legal requirements
for deploying the National Guard to Portland
after the city and state sued in September to block the deployment. The ruling
from U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, followed a 3-day
trial last week in which both sides argued over whether protests at the city’s
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building met the conditions for using
the military domestically under federal law.
The administration said the troops were needed to protect
federal personnel and property in a city that Trump described as "war ravaged”
with "fires all over the place.” In a 106-page opinion,
Immergut found that even though the president is entitled to "great deference”
in his decision on whether to call up the Guard, he did not have a legal basis
for doing so because he did not establish that there was a rebellion or danger
of rebellion, or that he was unable to enforce the law with regular forces.
"The trial record showed that although protests outside
the Portland ICE building occurred nightly between June and October 2025, ever
since a few particularly disruptive days in mid-June, protests have remained
peaceful with only isolated and sporadic instances of violence," Immergut
wrote. "The occasional interference to federal officers has been minimal, and
there is no evidence that these small-scale protests have significantly impeded
the execution of any immigration laws.”
The Trump administration criticized the judge's ruling. "The
facts haven’t changed. Amidst ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, that local
leaders have refused to step in to quell, Trump has exercised his lawful
authority to protect federal officers and assets. Trump will not turn a blind
eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities and we expect to be vindicated
by a higher court,” said Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman.
"The courts are holding this administration accountable to the truth and the rule of law,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in an e-mailed statement. "From the beginning, this case has been about making sure that facts, not political whims, guide how the law is applied. Today’s decision protects that principle.” Democratic cities fight back. Democratic cities targeted by Trump for military involvement — including Chicago, which has filed a separate lawsuit on the issue — have been pushing back.
They argue the president has not satisfied the legal threshold for deploying troops and that doing so would violate states’ sovereignty. Judge Immergut issued 2 orders in early October that had blocked the deployment of the troops leading up to the trial. The 1storder blocked Trump from deploying 200 members of the Oregon National Guard; the 2nd, issued a day later, blocked him from deploying members of any state's National Guard to Oregon, after he tried to evade the 1st order by sending California troops instead.
Immergut has called Trump's apocalyptic descriptions of Portland "simply untethered to the facts.” The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already ordered that the troops not be deployed pending further action by the appeals court. The trial Immergut held further developed the factual record in the case, which could serve as the basis for further appellate rulings. Demonstrations at ICE building peaked in June. Witnesses including local police and federal officials were questioned about the law enforcement response to the nightly protests at the city’s ICE building.
The demonstrations peaked in June, when Portland police declared one a riot. The demonstrations typically drew a couple dozen people in the weeks leading up to Trump’s National Guard announcement. The Trump administration said it has had to shuffle federal agents from elsewhere around the country to respond to the Portland protests, which it has characterized as a "rebellion” or "danger of rebellion.” Federal officials working in the region testified about staffing shortages and requests for more personnel that have yet to be fulfilled.
Among them was an official with the Federal Protective Service, the agency within the Department of Homeland Security that provides security at federal buildings, whom the judge allowed to be sworn in as a witness under his initials, R.C., because of safety concerns. R.C., who said he would be one of the most knowledgeable people in DHS about security at Portland’s ICE building, testified that a troop deployment would alleviate the strain on staff.
When cross-examined, however, he said he did not request troops and that he was not consulted on the matter by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem or Trump. He also said he was "surprised” to learn about the deployment and that he did not agree with statements about Portland burning down. Attorneys for Portland and Oregon said city police have been able to respond to the protests.
After the police department declared a riot on June 14th, it changed its strategy to direct officers to intervene when person and property crime occurs, and crowd numbers have largely diminished since the end of that month, police officials testified. The ICE building closed for 3 weeks over the summer because of property damage, according to court documents and testimony. The regional field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, Cammilla Wamsley, said her employees worked from another building during that period. The plaintiffs argued that was evidence that they were able to continue their work functions.
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Johnson reported from Seattle. Associated Press staff writer Michelle L. Price in Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
