A judge has made a ruling about the use of National Guard troops in Portland, Oregon.
Last Friday, a judge decided that the previous administration’s plan to send National Guard troops to Portland was not in line with the Constitution. The judge, Karin Immergut, who was appointed by the previous administration, had already put a temporary stop to the troop deployment.
Immergut said the government didn’t give a good enough reason to send the troops. She pointed out that the government failed to prove that the situation in Portland was so out of control that it needed the military’s help.
The judge’s order means that the government can’t use National Guard members from Oregon, Texas, and California in Portland.
The case was about whether protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland were serious enough to require the military’s involvement. The government argued that the troops were there to protect federal workers and property.
However, Immergut said that the President didn’t have the right to bring in the National Guard because there wasn’t enough evidence of a rebellion or threat that local law enforcement couldn’t handle.
She also said the order violated the 10th Amendment, which says that any powers not given to the federal government in the Constitution belong to the states.
The city of Portland and the state of Oregon had sued the government over the troop deployment. The government can still appeal the decision.
