On Sunday, September 28, 2025, the state of Oregon and the city of Portland took the extraordinary step of suing President Donald Trump and his administration, seeking to block the federal deployment of 200 Oregon National Guard troops to the city. This legal battle, which unfolded rapidly over the weekend, has ignited a fierce debate about federal authority, states’ rights, and the true state of public safety in Portland.
The chain of events began with a memorandum issued by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, acting on President Trump’s directive, which called 200 members of the Oregon National Guard into federal service for a 60-day period. The stated mission: to protect federal property, particularly an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland that has been the site of periodic protests since early June. The Trump administration justified the move by citing months of what it described as violent unrest, assaults on officers, and threats from groups including antifa. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson asserted, “President Trump is using his lawful authority to direct the National Guard to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following months of violent riots where officers have been assaulted and doxxed by left-wing rioters.” Jackson added, “The President’s lawful actions will make Portland safer.” (Axios)
But Oregon’s Democratic leadership sees things very differently. Governor Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, and state Attorney General Dan Rayfield jointly filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, calling the deployment “patently unlawful” and an unnecessary escalation. “Oregon communities are stable, and our local officials have been clear: we have the capacity to manage public safety without federal interference,” Rayfield said in a statement (Fox News Digital). The lawsuit argues that the protests outside the ICE facility have been small in recent weeks, typically involving fewer than 30 people, and that there have been no arrests since mid-June. The suit warns that the “heavyhanded deployment of troops threatens to escalate tensions and stokes new unrest,” potentially drawing more local law enforcement resources away from other needs.
Governor Kotek, who said she spoke directly with President Trump before the order was issued, described the city as “a far cry from the war-ravaged community he has posted on social media.” At a news conference at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Kotek stated, “There is no insurrection, there is no threat to national security and there is no need for military troops in our major city.” She further emphasized, “Despite this—and all evidence to the contrary—he has chosen to disregard Oregonians’ safety and ability to govern ourselves. This is not necessary. And it is unlawful. And it will make Oregonians less safe.” (OPB, Axios)
Mayor Wilson echoed these sentiments, declaring, “We did not ask for them to come. They are here without precedent or purpose.” He added, “To bring this narrative to Portland, to say that we are anything but a city on the rise, is counter what truth is.” (OPB, Fox News Digital) Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., also urged demonstrators to avoid confrontations with federal agents, warning, “Their goal is to create an engagement that will lead to conflict.”
Despite these local objections, federal agents began arriving in Portland over the weekend, with at least one clash reported outside the ICE facility. According to the White House, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has brought federal charges against 26 people for various offenses at the Portland ICE building between June 13 and September 8, including arson, assaulting a police officer, and resisting arrest. The administration also pointed to incidents involving members of antifa, including an alleged attack with an incendiary device and the appearance of a makeshift guillotine outside the facility. “Despite the crime and neighborhood pushback caused by the months-long protest, Oregon Democrats still refuse to do anything about it, with state and local law enforcement rendered unable to intervene due to sanctuary laws,” a White House official told Axios.
Still, crime statistics provided by the Portland Police Bureau’s Strategic Services Division suggest a more nuanced picture. So far in 2025, crime in Portland is on par with the same period last year, with 37,893 offenses compared to 37,859 in 2024. Notably, homicides have dropped by 50%, and aggravated assaults are down 4%, although simple assaults have increased by 8%. (OPB)
The lawsuit filed by Oregon and Portland claims that the Trump administration’s move to federalize the National Guard violates the 10th Amendment, which reserves police powers to the states. State Attorney General Rayfield compared the move to the administration’s earlier efforts to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. In fact, a federal judge in California recently ruled that the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles in June was illegal under the Posse Comitatus Act—a 19th-century law prohibiting the use of armed forces for domestic law enforcement. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer found that the administration had overstepped its authority in that instance.
The Oregon lawsuit names President Trump, Defense Secretary Hegseth, the Defense Department, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and the Department of Homeland Security as defendants. Local leaders have also signaled their intent to seek a temporary restraining order to block the deployment while the case proceeds. “The problem is that the president is using social media to inform his views,” Rayfield said at the Sunday news conference. “Instead of working with elected leaders across this country, the president is either purposefully ignoring the reality on the ground in Portland to score political points, or at best is recklessly relying upon social media gossip.” (OPB)
President Trump, for his part, has characterized Portland as “war-ravaged” and “under siege from attack by Antifa and other domestic terrorists.” He has threatened to deploy the National Guard in other Democrat-led cities, including Chicago, Baltimore, and New Orleans, and has already authorized deployments to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles earlier this year. In Portland, Trump’s decision was justified as a response to alleged ongoing threats to federal facilities and personnel, a claim local officials dispute.
As the legal battle unfolds, the broader questions of federal versus state authority, the effectiveness of military deployments in addressing protests, and the political motivations behind such actions remain hotly contested. Oregon’s leaders, for their part, are adamant that their city is not in crisis and that federal intervention is both unwarranted and potentially dangerous. “The National Guard is made up of Oregonians who are citizen soldiers, who are our neighbors and our friends,” Governor Kotek reminded the public, emphasizing the local character and purpose of the force.
With a temporary restraining order expected to be filed in the coming days, all eyes are on the federal courts to determine whether the Trump administration’s deployment will stand—or whether Oregon will succeed in keeping control of its own National Guard and its streets.
