Trial begins over Trump's fight to deploy National Guard troops to Oregon
The Trump administration will face off with Oregon state leaders in court on Wednesday over whether the president can federalize National Guard troops and deploy them to Portland, a city...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Trump administration will face off with Oregon state leaders in court on Wednesday over whether the president can federalize National Guard troops and deploy them to Portland, a city President Donald Trump has said is "war ravaged" and in need of military reinforcements. Judge Karin Immergut will preside over the trial, which will begin at 9 a.m. local time and is expected to stretch through the rest of the week. The trial comes as the administration has faced a string of setbacks in Oregon, where it has wanted to deploy 200 National Guard soldiers as added protection for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and other federal officers but has been unable to because of repeated court orders. TRUMP TEAM URGES OREGON JUDGE TO END RESTRAINING ORDER BLOCKING NATIONAL GUARD Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued two of those orders blocking Trump from deploying both in-state and out-of-state troops, and on appeal, the 9th Circuit briefly ruled in Trump's favor but reversed course this week. All the orders related to Oregon in the lower court and 9th Circuit have been issued on an emergency basis, and Immergut's three-day trial is expected to produce a more permanent decision, though it will likely be appealed by either party right away. Trump has faced obstacles to deploying National Guard soldiers in numerous blue cities, where the administration claims illegal immigration and street crime are rampant. In court papers filed ahead of the trial, DOJ lawyers said the deployment to Portland was "amply justified." WHITE HOUSE REBUKES ‘EGREGIOUS’ COURT ORDER BLOCKING TROOP DEPLOYMENTS AMID PORTLAND UNREST "In the weeks and months preceding the President’s decision, agitators assaulted federal officers and damaged federal property in numerous ways, spray-painted violent threats, blockaded the vehicle entrance to the Portland ICE facility, trapped officers in their cars, followed them when they attempted to leave the facility, threatened them at the facility, menaced…