Trump-appointed Federal District Court Judge Karin Immergut blocked President Donald Trump’s troop deployment to Oregon, granting a temporary restraining order citing a potential “military intrusion into civilian affairs.”
The State of Oregon filed suit last week to block Trump from deploying troops to the city of Portland, which he has dubbed a “war ravaged” city by virtue of anti-ICE protests
On Saturday, Judge Immergut — appointed by Trump in 2019 — granted the state’s request for a restraining order. The judge wrote:
The public has a profound interest in “prevent[ing] irreparable injury so as to preserve the court’s ability to render a meaningful decision on the merits.” Doe #1 v. Trump, 957 F.3d 1050, 1068 (9th Cir. 2020) (quoting Golden Gate Rest. Ass’n v. City & County of San Francisco, 512 F.3d 1112, 1116 (9th Cir. 2008)). Put simply, the issues at stake in this case are important, and the consequences of this Court’s decision are far-reaching. As soon as the federalized National Guard deploys to Portland, the state of Oregon will suffer an injury to its sovereignty. Conversely, if the TRO issues, federal law enforcement may continue “to protect federal personnel, functions, and property in Oregon.” ECF 1-1 at 2. In addition, both state and federal law enforcement officers may continue to arrest protestors who violate the law. The impact on Defendants, if any, is therefore de minimis.
Furthermore, this country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs. “That tradition has deep roots in our history and found early expression, for example, in . . . the constitutional provisions for civilian control of the military.” Laird v. Tatum, 408 U.S. 1, 15 (1972); see also James Madison, Address to the Constitutional Convention (1787), reprinted in 1 Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, at 465 (Max Farrand ed., 1911) (“A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence [against] foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home.”). This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law. Defendants have made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power—to the detriment of this nation.
The order will remain in effect until October 18, and the judge added that “The Defendants’ request to stay or administratively stay the Temporary Restraining Order… is DENIED.”
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