Standing Up for Portland: Legal Action

The City of Portland has a long history of partnering with the federal government to serve our community. We also have resisted unlawful overreach through lawsuits when federal leaders overstep their authority under the U.S. Constitution or federal law with policies that clash with our values.

Portland is involved with several legal actions against the federal government for targeting cities and our community members with unlawful policies.

Learn about the ways we’re standing up for our community.

Legal Actions

• Oregon and Portland v. Trump
  • In September 2025, Oregon and Portland filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over the deployment of federal troops in Portland. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
  • On October 4, 2025, Judge Karin Immergut blocked the deployment of the Oregon National Guard, ruling that the Trump Administration had not provided sufficient justification to activate them.
  • On October 5, 2025,  Judge Immergut issued another ruling to block the Trump Administration from activating the California National Guard to Portland. She barred the Trump Administration from sending troops from the Oregon National Guard, the California National Guard, or any other national guard.
  • On October 8, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order staying Judge Immergut's first ruling, but not her second. In effect, the order means that Oregon National Guard troops have been federalized but cannot be deployed.
  • On October 20, 2025, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 that Trump has probably met the minimal legal requirements for deploying 200 Oregon National Guard troops to Portland for 60 days. This is a preliminary ruling, however, not a full decision on the merits of the case. Meanwhile, Portland and Oregon have asked the entire court to review the decision.
  • On November 2, 2025, following a three-day trial, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued a preliminary injunction blocking any troop deployment while she considered her ruling.
  • On November 7, 2025, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued a permanent injunction barring President Trump from deploying the National Guard to Portland. Immergut ruled that the President did not meet the two criteria he cited to mobilize the National Guard. There was no danger of a rebellion against U.S. government authority and officers have not been thwarted from executing federal law. This ruling does not preclude the President from deploying the National Guard to Oregon in the future if conditions are met.
  • On December 23, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in a similar case, upholding a district judge's decision to bar the President from deploying the National Guard to Chicago.
  • On February 17, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice withdrew its request to appeal Judge Immergut's decision. This effectively ends the Trump administration's attempt to deploy the National Guard to Portland.
• San Francisco v. Trump
  • In February 2025, Portland joined a lawsuit with 15 other cities and counties against the Trump Administration over executive orders withholding federal funding from sanctuary jurisdictions.
  • In April 2025, Judge William Orrick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ordered the federal government to cease any effort to freeze funds from Portland and the other sanctuary jurisdictions while their lawsuit proceeds. Judge Orrick described the federal government’s actions as “arbitrary and capricious.”
  • See Judge halts Trump threat to withhold dollars from sanctuary cities.
• King County v. Turner
  • In May 2025, Portland joined a lawsuit with King County, Washington, and other cities and counties against the Trump Administration over its efforts to impose new conditions on federal grants. The Trump Administration seeks to force cities and counties to abandon their policies on immigration, sanctuary, diversity, equity and inclusion, gender equity, and access to abortion.
  • In June 2025, Judge Barbara J. Rothstein of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the cities and counties.
  • See King County v. Turner fact sheet.

Amicus Briefs 

The City has also supported several lawsuits against the federal government by filing amicus briefs, or legal arguments, in cases that affect our community.

• Newsom v. Trump
  • This is a challenge to the Trump Administration deploying the California National Guard and U.S. Marines during protests in Los Angeles.
  • See Newsom v. Trump.
• National TPS Alliance v. Noem (NTPSA II)
  • This is a challenge to the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which provides humanitarian protection for people who cannot safely return to their home countries.
  • See National TPS Alliance v. Noem (NTPSA II).
• State of Washington v. Trump
  • This is a challenge to the Trump Administration’s attempt to end birthright citizenship.
  • In January 2025, Washington, Oregon, and other states sued the Trump Administration over Executive Order 14160, which seeks to redefine the citizenship clause of the 14th amendment.
  • Judge John C. Coughenour issued a preliminary injunction to block the order. The Trump Administration appealed. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction. The Trump Administration appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the case was consolidated with two other cases and became known as Trump v. Casa. (See below.)
  • See Washington v. Trump (Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse)
• Trump v. Casa
  • The Trump Administration challenged the ability of lower-court judges to issue universal injunctions against executive orders. In June 2025, the Supreme Court held that universal injunctions likely exceed the authority of lower-court judges. However, the underlying cases are still in litigation.
  • See Supreme Court sides with Trump administration on nationwide injunctions in birthright citizenship case (ScotusBlog)

Learn more about Portland's evolving partnership with the federal government:

Portland Values and the Federal Government