Trump authorizes National Guard in Chicago as judge temporarily blocks his plan to deploy federal troops in Portland
By Karina Tsui, Whitney Wild, Michelle Watson, Zoe Sottile, CNN
(CNN) — The ongoing battle between the Trump administration and Democrat-led cities intensified this weekend, with a federal judge in Oregon hitting pause on the president’s plan to deploy federal troops in Portland, and the White House announcing authorization for hundreds of National Guard members to be sent to Chicago.
Those developments came against the backdrop of continuing protests in Chicago and Portland against federal law enforcement carrying out President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration enforcement agenda.
Trump and his administration have framed demonstrations in the two cities as “violent protests” carried out by “domestic terrorists,” arguing that military deployments are necessary to protect federal immigration personnel and property – despite state and city leaders’ insistence that the protests have been largely peaceful and any violence has been easily dealt with by local law enforcement.
Tensions spiked in Chicago Saturday after US Customs and Border Protection agents fired “defensive shots” at a woman who the Department of Homeland Security said rammed her car into a federal law enforcement vehicle. DHS said the woman is in FBI custody after being discharged from the hospital, but it’s unclear if charges have been filed against her.
Here’s the latest:
No ‘danger of rebellion’ in Portland, judge finds
District Judge Karin Immergut granted a temporary restraining order Saturday blocking Trump from sending the National Guard to Portland, ruling that city and Oregon officials “are likely to succeed on their claim that the President exceeded his constitutional authority and violated the Tenth Amendment” in ordering the deployment.
Immergut – a Trump appointee – said the president appeared to have federalized the Oregon National Guard “absent constitutional authority” and that protests in Portland “did not pose a ‘danger of a rebellion.’” The judge said Oregon attorneys showed “substantial evidence that the protests at the Portland ICE facility were not significantly violent” leading up to the president’s directive.
The Trump administration swiftly filed a notice that it will appeal the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The judge did note that recent incidents cited by the Trump administration of protesters clashing with federal officers “are inexcusable,” but said “they are nowhere near the type of incidents that cannot be handled by regular law enforcement forces.”
Immergut warned some of the arguments offered by the Trump administration “risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power—to the detriment of this nation.”
Roughly 200 National Guard troops were undergoing training in preparation for a potential deployment to Portland, a US Northern Command spokesperson told CNN Friday. The new ruling places the National Guard back under the command of Gov. Tina Kotek for now, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said.
The temporary restraining order expires in 14 days, but the state plans to request an extension, Rayfield said. CNN reached out to the governor’s office for details on any changes to the Oregon National Guard’s status.
Amid the legal victory for state leaders, crowds of protesters continued to gather late into the night Saturday outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in South Portland.
Demonstrators both for and against the National Guard deployment rallied outside the building, according to CNN affiliate KATU, whose crews reported seeing federal agents deploying multiple rounds of pepper balls, flash bangs and tear gas to clear streets.
Portland’s police department said its officers did not see any crimes against people or property during Saturday’s demonstration and that they made no arrests and did not use munitions. The department referred CNN’s questions regarding reports of law enforcement’s use of munitions to federal authorities.
CNN reached out to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security for further information.
Illinois governor says he was told to ‘call up your troops or we will’
On Saturday, the White House announced the president had authorized 300 members of the Illinois National Guard to “protect federal officers and assets” in Chicago, a move Trump has been promising for weeks.
“Amidst ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, that local leaders like (Illinois Gov. JB) Pritzker have refused to step in to quell, President Trump has authorized 300 national guardsmen to protect federal officers and assets,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told CNN. “President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities.”
Hours before the announcement, the Illinois governor said he was dealt an “ultimatum.”
“This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,” Pritzker said on X Saturday. “It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”
Tensions around anti-ICE protests in Chicago escalated earlier in the day after Customs and Border Protection agents shot at an armed woman after she rammed a law enforcement vehicle, according to the DHS.
Officers fired “defensive shots” at the woman after she – along with the drivers of at least 10 other vehicles – rammed and boxed in officers, Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary, said in a post on X.
“Agents were unable to move their vehicles and exited the car. One of the drivers who rammed the law enforcement vehicle was armed with a semi-automatic weapon,” McLaughlin said in her post. “Law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots at an armed US citizen who drove herself to the hospital to get care for wounds.”
On Sunday, Pritzker told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the Trump administration is releasing information before local officials have had a chance to assess.
“What happens in these sorts of incidents is typically, ICE puts out a press release before anybody else can speak with the press and then it gets reported on social media and elsewhere,” Pritzker said on “State of the Union.” “They are just putting out their propaganda, and then we’ve got to later determine what actually happened.”
DHS later identified the woman as Marimar Martinez and said she is in FBI custody after being discharged from the hospital. Martinez was named in an intelligence bulletin last week “for doxing agents and posting online,” McLaughlin said.
Another person, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, was “involved in the ramming” and is in law enforcement custody, DHS said. It is unclear whether Martinez or Ruiz has been charged or if they have legal representation.
Law enforcement also deployed gas canisters at the protesters Saturday, according to footage from Reuters. The footage shows protesters screaming, running, and shielding themselves.
“This is Brighton Park, this is not a war zone,” one woman told a journalist.
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