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Court Allows Trump To Use The National Guard

Court Allows Trump To Use The National Guard

The debate over federal authority, local defiance, and the enforcement of immigration law escalated dramatically this week following comments by Harmeet Dhillon, the Department of Justice’s top civil rights official, who declared that President Trump is legally justified in deploying the National Guard to Portland, Oregon. The trigger: city police allegedly shielding Antifa rioters as they harassed federal officers.

A viral video shows Antifa members using high-powered flashlights to disrupt security operations at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in downtown Portland. More controversially, it captures city police forming a line — not to disperse the rioters, but to shield them from non-lethal pepper balls fired by federal law enforcement. For Dhillon, the image wasn’t just troubling — it was grounds for federal intervention. “This is exactly why the 9th Circuit just said POTUS can send in the National Guard!” she wrote. “Incredible FAIL!”


She refers to a recent decision handed down by a three-judge panel in the historically progressive Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel approved a 60-day deployment of 200 National Guard troops, calling it a “proportional response” in support of law enforcement. Notably, the panel acknowledged the President’s authority under federal law, which permits such action in cases of rebellion or when federal law cannot be enforced by ordinary means.

The decision was not unanimous. One judge dissented, arguing that the government had failed to demonstrate any instance where Portland’s police refused a request for assistance. But to critics like Dhillon — and to many federal officials — the imagery of local police protecting violent demonstrators sends its own message.


At the heart of the controversy is a larger, deeply political battle over sanctuary cities, immigration enforcement, and what many see as the growing impunity of violent left-wing groups. Portland’s city leadership, including its far-left mayor, has long resisted federal cooperation. But the consequences, according to federal officials and conservative voices, are deadly.

ICE officers in Portland are responsible for executing immigration policy that remains popular with a wide segment of the American public. Yet they’ve increasingly found themselves under siege — not only from rioters but also from the very local institutions that should, under normal circumstances, support law enforcement efforts.


Critics say the situation mirrors developments in Los Angeles, where city leaders and ethnic-identity activists actively resist immigration enforcement, despite the rise in drug-related deaths tied to networks run by illegal migrants. In both cities, economic forces also play a role: businesses benefit from cheap labor, landlords benefit from rising rents — and the political class, many argue, turns a blind eye to the costs.

“This isn’t about two sides clashing,” said Donald Trump Jr. in a Fox News appearance. “There is no violence from the right. It is not both sides, it’s from one side and it was from the left alone.”

Written by Mark Stevens - October 23, 2025