HOUSTON, US

A US federal appeals court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump to send National Guard troops to the Pacific Northwest state of Oregon, according to media reports.

The three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals 9th Circuit voted 2-1 to lift a lower court order that had blocked the president from sending troops on a mission, according to Trump, to protect federal immigration buildings and workers in Portland.

The ruling allows the mobilization and deployment of 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to Portland while the legal challenge of the deployment moves forward in court. In addition, the deployment of 300 guardsmen from California will also be allowed.

The decision to allow the deployment was handed down despite objections by city and state leaders, who argued that Trump is violating the US Constitution's Tenth Amendment, which limits federal oversight of local policing enforcement in each individual state.

Trump has ordered multiple National Guard deployments in Democratic-led cities across the country, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, DC, citing crime or violence, which his critics call a pretext to establish his authority to deploy troops whenever he wants, especially ahead of next year’s pivotal midterm congressional elections.

Leaders in those cities and states have also filed lawsuits to block the deployment of guardsmen, citing an 1878 federal law called the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of US military forces for domestic law enforcement purposes.

Appeals court split

Portland-based US District Judge Karin Immergut, who Trump appointed during his first term as president, ruled on Oct. 4 that Trump likely acted unlawfully when he ordered troops to Portland.

Immergut had blocked Trump from sending any National Guard troops to Portland at least until the end of October and has scheduled a trial for Oct. 29 to determine whether to impose a longer-term block.

The lawsuit accused Trump of exaggerating the severity of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in Portland in order to justify illegally seizing control of state National Guard units.

On Sept. 27, Trump referred to Portland as a "war-ravaged" city and said: "I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary."

Police records provided by the state showed that protests in Portland were "small and sedate," resulting in only 25 arrests in mid-June and no arrests since June 19.

Immergut is one of three district court judges who have ruled against Trump's use of the National Guard, and no district court judge has yet ruled for Trump in the National Guard cases.

The appeals courts, however, have been split over the issue so far, with the 9th Circuit previously backing Trump's use of troops in California and the 7th Circuit ruling that troops should stay out of Illinois until all the legal proceedings have played out.

Legal experts have said that the state of Oregon and the city of Portland could ask for an 11-judge panel of the 9th Circuit to review Monday's decision or appeal directly to the US Supreme Court.