(MENAFN) The US states of California and Oregon initiated legal action on Sunday, aiming to prevent the Trump administration from sending 200 California National Guard soldiers to the city of Portland.

This lawsuit arises during widespread protests across the country protesting President Donald Trump’s stringent immigration policies and the use of military personnel in urban areas.

The Pentagon announced it would send the troops to “support US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal personnel carrying out official duties, including enforcing federal law and protecting federal property.”

California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, expressed his opposition by filing the lawsuit, labeling the deployment as “a breathtaking abuse of the law and power.”

Both Oregon and California argue that sending National Guard forces from outside the state represents an unprecedented overreach of authority, which should require an additional judicial ruling.

A federal judge in Oregon has already issued a temporary injunction preventing any National Guard troops from being sent to Portland, including those from other states like California.

Governor Newsom, together with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, allied with Oregon to request Judge Karin Immergut to prolong the injunction and prevent the transfer of California’s National Guard members to Oregon.

The court order is expected to remain effective until at least October 19 as the case advances through the legal system.

This controversy followed an earlier decision by Judge Immergut that stopped the Trump administration from deploying Oregon’s own National Guard troops to Portland amid ongoing protests.

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