Oregon – A federal judge sided with Oregon against the federal government’s attempt to send the Oregon National Guard without the state’s permission. Attorney General Dan Rayfield said that the U.S. District Court made a final decision that the President’s order to send troops to Oregon would not be carried out. This confirmed that the state is in charge of its own National Guard.
The court’s ruling comes after months of legal battles led by Oregon and the City of Portland after the President sent 200 Oregon National Guard troops to Portland and made them federal. The government said that federal help was needed because there were protests near the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office. Oregon said that the move was not legitimate and went against the Tenth Amendment, which says that powers not given to the federal government belong to the states.
Attorney General Rayfield said in a statement after the ruling that it was a very important confirmation of the restrictions set by the Constitution.
“Today’s ruling is a huge victory for Oregon. The courts are holding this administration accountable to the truth and the rule of law. From the beginning, this case has been about making sure that facts, not political whims, guide how the law is applied. Today’s decision protects that principle.”
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The court’s 106-page ruling made it clear that the President went too far with his powers under 10 U.S.C. § 12406, which only enables the federalization of state National Guards in very limited cases, like when there is a rebellion or when local resources are not enough. The decision used testimony from law enforcement officers at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as hundreds of exhibits showing what protesters did in Portland. The court decided that Oregon had enough resources to keep things in order and that federal officials in charge of the ICE building had not asked for Guard deployment.
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The district court had already issued temporary restraining orders that stopped both the Oregon and California National Guard from deploying. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also stepped in to keep such protections in place while the court looked at bigger constitutional issues.
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With this last decision, the district court has permanently stopped federal defendants from sending National Guard troops to Oregon without a good legal reason. The verdict ends the matter at the district level and strengthens the idea that the state can’t lose control of its National Guard until something really bad happens.
