A US federal court ruled last night that the deployment of National Guard troops in Portland, Oregon, at the initiative of President Donald Trump was illegal, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The decision creates a legal obstacle to the use of the army in American cities by the White House.
Judge Karin Immergut of the US District Court is the first magistrate to finally block Donald Trump's use of military force to suppress protests against immigration authorities. The president has tried to do the same in Democratic-controlled Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington. The new ruling replaces a temporary injunction that had halted the deployment of troops to Portland.
The Trump-appointed immigration attorney rejected the administration's claims that protesters at immigration detention centers were engaging in a riot that legally justified sending troops.
The president's attempts to use military force to quell the unrest represent a sharp departure from longstanding, if rarely used, norms against deploying troops on American soil.
The Trump administration is likely to appeal the ruling, and the case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
The city of Portland and Oregon's attorney general filed a lawsuit in September alleging that the Trump administration is exaggerating isolated incidents of violence to justify sending troops under a law that allows presidents to do so in cases of rioting. Democrats argue that Trump is abusing military powers intended for true emergencies – such as an armed uprising or invasion.
Judge Karin Immergut has already blocked the deployment of troops to Portland with a temporary injunction on October 5.