A federal appeals court on Monday handed President Donald Trump a significant legal victory, ruling that he may proceed with his plan to deploy National Guard troops to Portland to assist federal law enforcement in responding to violent anti-ICE protests and unrest in the city.
In a 2–1 decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit lifted a lower court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) that had blocked the deployment. The panel—composed of Judges Ryan Nelson and Bridget Bade, both Trump appointees, and one Clinton-era judge—found that the president had acted within his lawful authority under federal law.
The court held that Trump “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.”
The ruling marks a sharp rebuke of U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, who earlier this month blocked the president’s order and warned that his justification for federalizing the Oregon National Guard risked “pushing the country toward a constitutional crisis.” Immergut’s TRO had been set to expire on October 18, but she extended it last week while reviewing new evidence.
The Ninth Circuit’s decision now nullifies that extension, giving the administration the green light to proceed immediately with the deployment of hundreds of Guard troops to Portland.
Trump previously ordered units from the California and Texas National Guards to prepare for deployment to Portland as a workaround to Immergut’s initial injunction. Monday’s appellate ruling now allows the Oregon Guard to take part directly.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer, arguing for the administration, said the deployment was necessary to “safeguard federal property, assist ICE operations, and protect federal personnel” amid violent protests targeting federal facilities.
In the majority opinion, Judge Nelson wrote that the president’s decision was “entitled to substantial deference” and that the courts should be “especially cautious not to second-guess the executive’s assessment of security threats to federal property and personnel.”
Judge Bade joined the opinion, emphasizing that Congress explicitly granted the president broad authority to federalize state troops when enforcement of federal law is obstructed.
The dissenting judge argued that while the president holds such power, the administration had not shown that conditions in Portland met the statutory threshold of an ongoing “rebellion or obstruction.”
The Department of Homeland Security praised the decision, saying it would “ensure federal agents can carry out their lawful duties without fear of violence.”
Portland has been a flashpoint in the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts since President Trump ordered a renewed crackdown on sanctuary cities and anti-ICE demonstrations earlier this year. In recent months, protests near a federal immigration facility in the city have turned violent, with multiple arrests and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.
Judge Immergut’s initial order cited concerns that the deployment might escalate tensions and undermine state sovereignty. Oregon officials, including Gov. Tina Kotek and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, sued the administration to block the move, arguing that it was an “overreach of federal power into state affairs.”
The Ninth Circuit disagreed, saying the president’s statutory powers under Title 10 were clear and not dependent on state consent when the federal government determines local authorities cannot maintain order or protect federal interests.
The appeals court’s decision comes just days after Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a similar block on his National Guard deployment to Chicago. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals had unanimously upheld a lower court’s order preventing the president from deploying Guard units there, rejecting the administration’s claim that anti-ICE protests in Illinois amounted to a “rebellion.”
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who oversees the Seventh Circuit, has not yet issued a decision on the Chicago case but has directed Illinois officials to respond by Monday.
The Ninth Circuit’s ruling represents the first appellate court victory for Trump’s domestic troop deployment strategy, which has drawn intense debate over the limits of presidential power and the use of the National Guard for internal security operations.
For now, the president has been cleared to proceed in Oregon — a move expected to take effect within days.