A federal appeals court on Monday cleared President Donald Trump to for now send Oregon National Guard troops to Portland, lifting a previous lower court ruling that barred him from doing so following that blocked the move after months of violence outside a federal immigration building.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Trump likely acted within his authority when he ordered 200 Guard members into federal service for 60 days to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workers and property at the Lindquist Federal Building.
The Department of Justice appealed a previous order and received a 2-1 ruling in their favor from a panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judges said the president made a reasonable judgment based on the facts and the law.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, earlier this month issued two temporary restraining orders. One prohibited Trump from calling up, sending troops to Portland; another prohibited him from sending any National Guard members to Oregon at all after Trump attempted to deploy California troops across state lines, according to the Associated Press.
Judges said Trump had good reason to believe federal officers could not keep order on their own. They noted that local police refused to assist and that federal officers were stretched thin.
The court said blocking the president’s order would harm the government’s ability to protect its employees and enforce the law.
Violence Outside ICE Building
What began as small protests in June grew into nights of chaos.
Protesters set fires, threw fireworks, and hurled rocks at federal officers. One officer was hurt when a mortar exploded nearby. Others were followed home and photographed.
The building was boarded up for weeks after demonstrators tried to break through the front doors. At one point, protesters built a guillotine outside. Local police refused to respond to immigration calls, saying they would only handle life-threatening emergencies.
The Department of Homeland Security asked the Pentagon for help after what it called coordinated attacks by violent groups. Trump used a federal law, 10 U.S.C. 12406, that allows the president to call up the National Guard when regular forces cannot enforce federal law.
When Oregon’s governor rejected the notion, Trump went ahead and ordered the Guard to federal duty. The state and city of Portland sued, saying he overstepped his authority and violated states’ rights.
Next Round of the Fight
The ruling lets Oregon Guard troops deploy while the case moves forward. The state’s lawsuit continues, but the decision gives the president the advantage for now.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat, said he would ask for a broader panel of the appeals to reconsider the decision.
“Today’s ruling, if allowed to stand, would give the president unilateral power to put Oregon soldiers on our streets with almost no justification,” Rayfield said, according to the AP. “We are on a dangerous path in America.”
Similar court fights are underway in California and Illinois. Legal experts say the battle over who controls the Guard could reach the Supreme Court.
