By Darren Lyn
HOUSTON, United States (AA) - The US state of Oregon filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Sunday to block the deployment of the National Guard to the city of Portland, declaring the move unlawful, according to media reports.
President Donald Trump announced the deployment of guardsmen after protests near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland over the past several months.
"When the president and I spoke yesterday, I told him in plain language that there is no insurrection or threat to public safety that necessitates military intervention in Portland or any other city in our state," Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a press release. "Despite this — and all evidence to the contrary — he has chosen to disregard Oregonians’ safety and ability to govern ourselves."
"This is not necessary. And it is unlawful. And it will make Oregonians less safe," Kotek added.
The lawsuit, which names Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Defense Department, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as defendants, asked the court to stop the unlawful deployment of troops.
In the complaint, the plaintiffs claimed that Hegseth issued a memorandum Sunday calling 200 members of the Oregon National Guard into federal service.
Kotek told reporters that Trump had taken away her control of the National Guard and said the state did not have any information regarding the timeline for deployment or whether the troops would be armed.
The plaintiffs also claimed that the administration’s move to federalize the guard violated the US Constitution’s Tenth Amendment..
The Trump administration disagreed, saying the president's action is "lawful" and would "make Portland safer."
"President Trump is using his lawful authority to direct the National Guard to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following months of violent riots where officers have been assaulted and doxed by left-wing rioters," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
The Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security have not yet commented on the matter.
Trump has threatened to deploy the National Guard in multiple US cities run by Democratic mayors, including Chicago, Illinois, Baltimore, Maryland and New Orleans, Louisiana. The president authorized the deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, DC in August.