Citizens are watching a drawn-out legal battle between federal judges and the Trump Administration.
Trump announced that the Oregon National Guard would be deployed in Portland to quell the protests surrounding the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations on Sept. 27. However, on Oct. 3, a federal judge in Portland blocked the order, claiming that there was insufficient evidence of rebellion to justify the troops’ presence. The president quickly ordered National Guard troops from first California, then Texas, to Portland instead. Within 24 hours, the same federal judge changed her order so that no National Guard troops from any state could be sent to Portland for the time being. Two weeks later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that National Guard troops could be deployed in Oregon.
The National Guard is used for many things, like supporting us through natural disasters and wars. Presently, the president has deployed the National Guard to aid the government in a different task: the elimination of crime.
Most notably, the National Guard was sent to L.A over the summer to enforce immigration laws and curb protests. The deployment caused tension and hostility between the protesters and law enforcement, who were perceived by locals as threatening and needless.
TuHS government teacher Kevin McManamon offered his thoughts about the legalities of the deployment to Portland.
Is using the National Guard to dispel protests allowable under the Constitution, or does it go against the First Amendment?
McManamon: The First Amendment generally gets really wide latitude around the protection of free speech. What we see in the streets of Portland usually gets the highest form of protection unless obvious laws are broken. I wouldn’t connect the use of the National Guard with Oregonians’ rights to express their opinion.
Where does the Posse Comitatus Act apply to this situation?
McManamon: As of right now, it’s unclear what the National Guard is going to be asked to do. If the Guard is asked to carry out law enforcement, then that has the potential to be in violation. However, if a Guard is deployed to protect federal property, I don’t see that as an isolating act.
Does the president have the authority to override the governors of their respective states?
McManamon: Our style of federalism permits an overlap of powers between national and state governments. Ultimately, though, the Supreme Court has recently been deferring to the judgment of the executive branch when there’s a conflict between federal and state government powers.
How do you think our lives will be different since the National Guard was dispatched to Portland?
McManamon: I do not believe that life will be perceptually different, even in the downtown Portland area, given that the focus seems to be on the one ICE building in Portland.
Finally, Portland resident and TuHS English teacher Shem Malone explained how life in Portland feels today.
How has this situation affected you? Have you noticed any changes around Portland?
Malone: I think about it all the time. I live smack in the middle of the city. [When I was downtown recently,] people were in the fountain and playing chess. That’s not a war-ravaged city. We’re carrying on. Our life is fine. But I’m worried. When there’s a scuffle, you don’t bring in the top scufflers. I’m worried that it’s going to exacerbate into something it really shouldn’t be.
Have you been to a protest before?
Malone: I have – BLM protests. The protests I’ve been to over the last few years, I would be comfortable there with my 14-year-old daughter. They’ve been passionate but not violent. We have the right to protest. It’s a way to speak truth to power.
