According to OPB, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has called for the demobilization of roughly 200 Oregon National Guard members stationed at Camp Rilea near Astoria, as well as California National Guard troops currently based at Camp Withycombe in Clackamas County.
In a letter to Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, Kotek said the soldiers had been “uprooted from their families and careers” for what she described as “an illegal mission.” She emphasized that the mobilization disrupted planned trainings and deployments and carried unnecessary costs for taxpayers.
The dispute stems from President Donald Trump’s effort to deploy National Guard forces to Oregon over the governor’s objections — part of a broader conflict over the limits of federal versus state authority. Under federal “Title 10” status, Guard troops can be called to serve under federal command, but the law generally requires state coordination unless there is a clear national emergency.
According to the Oregon Military Department, the state’s soldiers remain in limbo as legal challenges unfold. A federal judge, Karin Immergut — a Trump appointee — issued an order temporarily blocking the president from deploying Oregon’s National Guard to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in South Portland. The same judge later extended the restriction to include troops from California and Texas.
In her ruling, Judge Immergut wrote that the administration had not demonstrated that recent demonstrations outside the ICE building posed a threat to federal employees or operations. “This is a nation of constitutional law, not martial law,” she stated.
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Governor Kotek said she was not notified in advance of the California deployment, learning of it through unofficial channels late Saturday. Her office said no formal communication has been received from the Trump administration or Secretary of War Pete Hegseth explaining the purpose or legal basis for the mobilization.
The administration is expected to appeal the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, setting up a potential test of presidential powers to deploy state-based troops without a governor’s consent.
