As President Donald Trump’s legal fight to deploy the National Guard in Portland enters its third month, the blistering pace of emergency motions and expedited hearings has slowed — at least for now.

Much of the attention has now turned to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is considering a similar case out of Chicago, where the president is also attempting to send troops. Whatever the high court rules could have a significant impact on Oregon.

For now, the situation in Oregon remains on pause, with dozens of National Guard members waiting in limbo.

Where does the case stand now?

On Nov. 7, U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut ruled against the Trump administration, determining the president’s takeover of the Oregon National Guard was unlawful. Her permanent injunction blocked National Guard troops from deploying to Oregon.

Immergut, who was appointed to the federal bench by Trump, also ordered the 200 Oregon National Guard troops that the Trump administration federalized returned to state control.

The Trump administration appealed that ruling, and the case currently sits before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. However, that court said it would wait to hear the case until the Supreme Court issues a ruling for Illinois.

Wasn’t the National Guard being demobilized?

So far, 100 members of the Oregon National Guard have been demobilized.

Last week, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced that the remainder of the state’s guard was being demobilized and returned to state control, but that turned out not to be the case. An hour after her initial announcement, the 9th Circuit agreed to hear the case, en banc, before a larger panel of judges.

As part of the appeals court’s order, they kept the 100 Oregon guard members federalized to maintain the status quo. But the president still cannot deploy them.

How did we get here?

For months, protesters have gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility located in Portland’s South Waterfront neighborhood.

While a handful of protests, mostly in June, were large and occasionally resulted in violence and property destruction, the vast majority have been small and peaceful.

On Sept. 27, President Trump announced on social media that he was sending the National Guard to Portland. He called the city “war-ravaged” and announced he was authorizing full force against people he described as “domestic terrorists.”

The city of Portland, along with Oregon and later California, sued to block the Trump administration’s deployment. On Oct. 4, Judge Immergut issued a temporary block on Trump’s deployment of the Oregon National Guard.

During the early morning hours of Oct. 5, the Trump administration began to send 200 federalized members of the California National Guard to Oregon. They also started calling up hundreds of Texas National Guard troops.

During an emergency hearing late on Oct. 5, a clearly frustrated Immergut issued a second temporary restraining order that stopped the executive branch from deploying any members of the National Guard from any state to Oregon.

The Trump administration appealed Immergut’s first temporary restraining order.

A three judge panel of the 9th Circuit heard the case and issued a split decision: two judges sided with the president, and a third sided with the city and states. Attorneys with the city of Portland, along with California and Oregon, appealed that ruling, and the 9th Circuit agreed to rehear the case en banc before a larger panel of judges.

In late October, Immergut held a three-day trial, the first in the nation to examine limitations to the president’s legal authority to deploy the guard, and whether his actions violated state sovereignty.

Throughout the hastily organized trial, Immergut heard testimony from both local and federal law enforcement. In the end, she found the protests outside the Portland ICE facility did not require the National Guard and that the Trump administration violated states’ rights.

What’s up with the protests at the ICE facility in Portland now?

They’ve continued, but have been increasingly small.

Between June 13 and Nov. 24, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon said it has charged 40 people with federal crimes near the ICE facility, including failure to comply, depredation of government property and assaulting federal officers.

On Nov. 21, the Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union announced that it had filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of protesters and journalists in Portland, alleging First Amendment violations.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/28/donald-trump-national-guard-portland-oregon-ice/