Oregon has filed suit to stop President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy 200 National Guard troops to Portland. Attorney General Dan Rayfield submitted the challenge on Sunday alongside Gov. Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson.
The filing came just hours after Kotek received a memo authorizing a 60-day federally controlled mission, according to Fox News.
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“If the president tries to send troops into Oregon to police our communities, we will not hesitate to take action in court,” Rayfield said in a statement earlier this month.
What the order says
Fox News reported Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved a deployment of the Oregon National Guard to protect federal sites “where protests are occurring or likely to occur.”
Trump posted on Truth Social that he directed Hegseth to send “all necessary Troops to protect war-ravaged Portland, and any other ICE facilities under siege” from domestic extremists.
The Department of Defense declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.
How Oregon officials responded
Kotek said she asked Trump not to send troops and disputed his portrayal of the city.
“There is no insurrection. There is no threat to national security. And there is no need for military troops,” she said.
Mayor Wilson added that local leaders did not request Guard support. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., urged demonstrators to avoid confrontations, saying the objective of a clash could escalate tensions.
Portland’s ICE facility
Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that several hundred people gathered on Sunday at the ICE building to protest the deployment. Observers could see federal agents equipped with long guns patrolling from the rooftops of nearby buildings.
More than a dozen counterprotesters attended the event. One organizer said, “We are not going to stand for people following illegal orders.”
What’s next?
The lawsuit mirrors a California case filed after troops were sent to Los Angeles in June. Federal agents began arriving in Portland over the weekend as the case moves through the court.
