The delay in pulling Oregon National Guard members out of Portland’s immigration enforcement building after a judge had barred their deployment there resulted from having to relay the order through a chain of command, federal government lawyers told a judge Thursday.

“It took some time for us to fully implement compliance,” said Eric Hamiltion, U.S. Department of Justice attorney.

Seven to 10 Oregon National Guard soldiers sent to Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Oct. 4 at 11:35 a.m. and remained at the building until midnight that day, about eight hours after U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut’s order was issued, Hamilton said.

Immergut pressed, “Who was responsible for notifying the National Guard in the building that the court had prohibited their

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