Judge calls decision allowing guard troops in Portland more than 'merely absurd'

PORTLAND, Ore. — The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the Trump administration can deploy Oregon National Guard troops to Portland.

The three-judge panel was divided on the ruling, with one judge in dissent, lifting a lower court order blocking the Trump administration from sending the 200 mobilized Oregon National Guard troops to Portland to protect the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland.

The decision now paves the way for the Trump administration to deploy troops to Portland, while a legal challenge moves forward.

Susan P. Graber, the lone judge in opposition, said the decision "Erodes core constitutional principles, including sovereign States’ control over their States’ militias and the people’s First Amendment rights to assemble and to