A federal appeals court ruled Monday that President Donald Trump may keep control of the Oregon National Guard and deploy them to Portland.

That means a military police company based out of Salem may be called to patrol Portland’s streets.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a previous order barring the Trump administration from deploying 200 Oregon soldiers to Portland for 60 days. The court split 2-1.

The state and city of Portland sued the Trump administration Sept. 28 over the deployment of the Oregon National Guard, which led to a federal judge blocking the deployment. The Trump administration appealed the case Oct. 5.

A second federal court order barring any National Guard troops from being deployed to Portland remains in effect. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield pledged to quickly appeal the latest ruling, and the Trump administration is expected to challenge the second order barring Guard deployment. 

The 1186th Military Police Company of Salem and the 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Squadron, based in Woodburn, were two of the units activated to be sent to Portland, according to Leslie Reed, spokesperson for the Oregon Military Department. 

The department has not yet responded to questions from Salem Reporter about how many people serve in the Salem company.

Salem soldiers were notified of their deployment Sept. 28, Reed previously told Salem Reporter in an email.

The deployment was to “protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property,” a U.S. military website reads.

After federal rulings blocked their deployment earlier this month, soldiers have been “planning and training” but not participating in federal protection operations, according to an update posted to U.S. Northern Command’s website Oct. 10.

Oregon troops have been training at Camp Rilea in Warrenton, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported earlier this month.

While the troops are not currently able to be deployed, they remain under federal authorization.

The Oregon Military Department referred questions about the appellate ruling and deployment of Salem soldiers to the U.S. Department of Defense. The Defense Department subsequently did not respond to those questions Monday.

The Salem unit has been activated locally and internationally several times in the last decade.

During a winter storm in 2021, the unit worked with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to do welfare checks in rural areas of Marion County and connect people to resources, according to Reed.

The unit’s last overseas deployment was in 2017 to Afghanistan.

To be federalized, or placed under federal control, soldiers complete a medical screening and paperwork ahead of their deployments, according to Reed.

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

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