100 Oregon National Guard troops still mobilized despite Kotek hearing otherwise

Half of the Oregon National Guard troops who have been waiting more than seven weeks for legal battles to play out over the deployment of federalized troops to Portland remain mobilized, despite Gov. Tina Kotek saying Wednesday that they would all be sent home.

Kotek announced Wednesday afternoon that she had heard from the U.S. Northern Command, which took control of 200 Oregon Guard members on Sept. 27, that it is demobilizing the guard and returning them to state command.

But shortly afterward, at a press conference announcing a climate executive order, Kotek said she had received updated information.

“Earlier today, we had a verbal commitment from the Northern Command that all 200 Oregon National Guard troops will be demobilized,” she said. “Now we’re hearing they’re waiting, and so we don’t know if that’s actually happening.”

The federalized troops from Oregon have been stationed at a coastal training camp waiting for legal arguments to play out since U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut first blocked Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from deploying the Oregon troops to protect Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Oct. 4. Another  200 California National Guard troops the administration sent to the state after Immergut’s first order were waiting at another Oregon military base, but the Northern Command said those California troops are going through demobilization.

The Oregon Military Department estimates that the deployment of Oregon Guard cost taxpayers $16 million. Those Guard troops will have to travel to Texas for demobilization, which includes medical and mental health screenings, and it’s unclear whether they’ll be reunited with their families in Oregon by Thanksgiving. 

Kotek said Wednesday’s conflicting updates are an indicator of confusion, inconsistency and lack of protocol surrounding every aspect of the fight over deploying the National Guard against state and local leaders’ wishes.

“I’m going to keep pushing for sending everybody home, following the law and the court order,” she said. “They should be home. The holiday season is starting. They should be home.”

Immergut permanently blocked deployment of any federalized troops to Portland nearly two weeks ago, ruling that daily protests outside the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility that often resemble an improv theater performance are in no way a “rebellion” against the federal government. The Trump administration is appealing Immergut’s ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which on Wednesday granted an administrative stay allowing troops to remain federalized, but not deployed, pending further arguments.

The appeals court won’t accept written arguments until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules in a related case out of Illinois.