Trump-Appointed Judge Stalls Decision On National Guard Deployment In Portland

Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut paused on Sunday President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard into Portland, Oregon, extending the hold until at least Friday.

Immergut filed a 16-page order stating that, pending a final opinion resolving the state’s request to block the deployment, they are granted a preliminary injunction which will remain in place until 5 p.m. local time Friday. The decision follows a three-day trial where the judge heard arguments from the state and the Department of Justice (DOJ), along with testimony from law enforcement officials.

“This Court further STAYS IN PART this preliminary injunction to the extent that it enjoins the federalization of any State’s National Guard until this Court issues its final opinion on the merits,” the order states.

The trial over the National Guard’s deploymentbegan Wednesday, with both sides presenting opening arguments and Cmdr. Franz Schoening of the Portland Police Bureau taking the stand as the first witness. Schoening testified that officers on the ground weren’t “seeing criminal conduct or violent behavior” during protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.

During cross-examination, however, a DOJ lawyer pressed Schoening on the lack of arrests by local law enforcement during the June protests, citing a June 12 Incident Commander’s summary that described a chaotic scene. Despite protesters attempting to damage the building, the lawyer noted that no arrests were made until a fire was set.

Notably, in Immergut’s order, the judge wrote under the likelihood of success for the case that the Trump administration’s federalization and deployment of the National Guard to protect Portland’s ICE facility “extend beyond delegated statutory authority” under Title 10, Section 12406, and violated the Tenth Amendment.