Trump sends California National Guard to Portland amid ICE protests and riots
Oct 5, 2025, 6:14 PM
PORTLAND, OREGON - OCTOBER 04: Federal agents, including members of the Department of Homeland Security, the Border Patrol, and police, attempt to keep protesters back outside a downtown U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility on October 04, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. The facility has become a focal point of nightly protests against the Trump administration and his announcement that he will be sending National Guard troops into Portland. A federal judge is currently hearing Oregon’s case against sending troops into the city, and a decision is expected on Saturday. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump has ordered hundreds of California National Guard troops into Portland to assist federal agents at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility—an extraordinary move that defied a federal court ruling and outraged Democratic governors in both Oregon and California.
The deployment came just hours after U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut blocked the administration from sending 200 Oregon National Guard members for a two-month mission, ruling the president had likely overstepped his authority. Within six hours, however, roughly 100 troops from California were flown into Oregon under federal control.
Governor Tina Kotek of Oregon called the move intentionally provocative,” accusing the president of inflaming tensions.
“I kind of don’t even care at this point where he is getting his information,” Kotek said of Trump, “because he is intentionally disregarding the facts on the ground.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump’s action “reckless and authoritarian,” and vowed to join Oregon in a lawsuit.
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The White House defended the decision, arguing that the troops were needed to protect federal property and personnel from “violent riots and attacks on law enforcement.” Officials said the troops were reassigned from Los Angeles, where they had previously been federalized during ICE enforcement operations over the summer.
Portland’s protests in recent weeks have been small and mostly peaceful, according to local police reports and Judge Immergut’s ruling. But that’s not a reflection of what’s happening nearly nightly outside the facility. Federal agents were forced to escalate their tactics over the weekend—using tear gas, pepper balls, and flash grenades to disperse demonstrators outside the ICE building.
Legal experts say the deployment raises unresolved constitutional questions about whether the president can federalize one state’s Guard and send them into another without that governor’s consent. Oregon’s attorney general plans to ask the court to expand its restraining order to include the California troops.
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