The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that President Donald Trump’s administration can deploy Oregon National Guard troops to Portland following a district court judge ruling that blocked the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to help protect an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland that has been plagued with nightly protests, riots, and violent attacks since June.
According to Fox News, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 ruling on Monday to authorize Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Portland.
Judge Ryan Nelson and Judge Bridget Bade, who both ruled in favor of the president’s National Guard deployment to Portland, wrote, “After considering the record at this preliminary stage, we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority under 10 U.S.C. § 12406(3), which authorizes the federalization of the National Guard when ‘the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.”
Monday’s ruling pointed to the “violent and disruptive events” that have occurred outside Portland’s ICE facility since July. The court emphasized that while there have been peaceful protests outside the facility, many of the protests have become “violent” and have “threatened federal law enforcement officers and the building.”
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The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote, “There is a colorable basis for the President’s determination that he is unable with regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.”
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also noted that there has been a “lack of support” for the ICE facility from the Portland Police Bureau. The court explained that the Federal Protective Service has been forced to “rely almost exclusively on ICE and SRT for assistance in preventing violent protesters from attacking officers and the facility in which they work” in Portland.
While the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approved Trump’s deployment of the Oregon National Guard to Portland, KATU reported that the president still cannot deploy the National Guard troops to the city due to U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut’s temporary restraining order that blocks Trump from deploying any National Guard members to Portland.
According to KATU, the Trump administration has indicated that it will ask Immergut to withdraw her temporary restraining order since the legal reasoning behind the restraining order is the same as the reasoning that was overruled in Monday’s decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
