Ninth Circuit to Rehear Case on Oregon National Guard Deployment

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated a previous decision that permitted the federal deployment of Oregon National Guard troops to Portland. The court announced it will rehear the case en banc, involving a larger panel of judges.

This development maintains the current situation, where 200 Oregon National Guard members are under federal control but remain non-deployable as legal proceedings continue. President Trump has advocated for their deployment to protect the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland, citing ongoing protests and occasional clashes between federal officers and demonstrators.

In late September, Portland and the state of Oregon filed a lawsuit against the federal government following the Department of Defense's move to federalize 200 Oregon soldiers. U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut issued two temporary restraining orders earlier this month: one blocking the deployment of Oregon soldiers and another extending the prohibition to any National Guard deployment in Portland.

On October 20, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit overturned Judge Immergut's restraining orders, stating that while the president may have exaggerated the situation in Oregon, he would likely prove at trial that existing federal resources were insufficient to enforce federal immigration policy at the ICE facility under continuous protest.

Subsequently, a judge on the Ninth Circuit requested an en banc review of the decision. The court's announcement indicates that a majority of judges agreed to this review, effectively nullifying the three-judge panel's ruling. The timeline for the en banc hearing remains uncertain. Until then, Oregon National Guard members are federalized but cannot be deployed. A trial in the broader lawsuit is scheduled to begin Wednesday in U.S. District Court.