Trump administration urges judge to allow National Guard in Portland

The Trump administration urged a federal judge during a hearing in Oregon on Friday to end a restraining order and clear the way for the government to deploy National Guard troops to Portland.

The administration argued to Judge Karin Immergut that a higher court had already given the green light to President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard there. Immergut, a Trump appointee, said she would decide by Monday whether to cancel her order.

“[I’ll be] I am working as quickly as possible to get a decision that honors the 9th Circuit’s decision, but also takes into account some of the new arguments and new information provided,” Immergut said.

Trump wins big in National Guard case, but legal battles are far from over

Federal agents confront anti-ICE protesters at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building October 12, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. (Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)

The Trump administration has still been unable to deploy dedicated troops to support the presidential crackdown in Portland, a liberal haven that Trump says is teeming with illegal immigrants, street crime and threats against federal law enforcement.

“I looked at Portland this weekend, the place is burning, just burning,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office this week.

Immergut’s hearing was just the latest in a series of clashes between local Democratic leaders and the president over the distribution of law enforcement powers. The president has claimed he is authorized to deploy National Guard troops to cities to support federal immigration enforcement agents, while several blue states and cities say Trump is wildly misrepresenting the level of crime and unrest and that the military buildups are unwarranted and encroach on their sovereignty.

WHITE HOUSE REFIRMS “SEVERAL” COURT ORDER BLOCKING TROOPS DEPLOYMENTS AMID PORTLAND UNREST

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

A litigator on behalf of Oregon told Immergut on Friday that Trump’s attempt to deploy 200 National Guard troops from other states to Portland had “no justification.”

The lawyer called it a “grossly disproportionate response to the situation.”

The legal saga in Oregon began when Immergut issued two consecutive restraining orders blocking Trump from deploying California National Guard soldiers to Portland and blocking Trump from deploying National Guard soldiers to Portland, respectively.

The government appealed the first order, and a 9th Circuit panel decided this week, 2-1, to side with Trump in the case. But a full panel of judges could now reconsider that decision, and Immergut’s second order also remains intact, meaning Trump cannot currently deploy the National Guard to Oregon.

A Justice Department lawyer said the 9th Circuit panel’s decision ending Immergut’s first order means his two orders should “go up and down together.”

“I just don’t know if there’s any way around it,” the lawyer said.

Federal agents confront anti-ICE protesters at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building October 12, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. (Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)

The 9th Circuit panel had found that Trump had a strong chance of succeeding in his case as the case progressed through the courts and also accused Immergut of ignoring months of violence and disruption in Portland over the summer.

Regardless of what Immergut does with its remaining active restraining order, the court battles are far from over as the existing court orders have all been issued on an emergency basis.

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A similar question over Trump’s use of the National Guard in Illinois is pending before the Supreme Court.

In Oregon, Immergut is also holding a short trial next week to reach a longer-term conclusion about Trump’s use of the National Guard in that state.

Fox News’ Lee Ross contributed.