Mayor Eric Adams speaks at the Billie Holiday Theatre in Restoration Plaza on July 28, 2022 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn borough in New York City.
Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
The Eric Adams administration said on Tuesday, Oct. 8, that the City of New York — as part of a coalition of 74 localities from around the nation — has filed a new amicus brief supporting Oregon’s ongoing case against Trump’s “unlawful deployment” of the National Guard in Portland.
In the brief, the coalition urges the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to affirm a district court ruling in Oregon v. Trump, which enjoined the federal government from deploying federal troops in Portland.
Adams said the coalition warns against the Trump administration’s plans to deploy the National Guard “anytime, anywhere, for any reason — based on nothing more than sporadic incidents of conflict or being a disfavored jurisdiction.”
The mayor said the coalition highlights the harms to local sovereignty, local peace and tranquility, and local economies from the federal government’s deployment of the National Guard to American cities on pretextual and political grounds.
“New York City is proud to — once again — partner with a multitude of localities to assert local control over our own domain: public safety,” said Mayor Adams. “Our administration has been unrelenting in driving down crime, rooting out violent criminals, and protecting New Yorkers, and we have had record drops in crime thanks to our commitment to public safety and the precision policing of the NYPD.
“Collaboration with state and federal law enforcement has always been a key part of our public safety strategy, but we do not need a deployment of the National Guard to our city,” he added. “Instead, we plan to continue to work with the federal government on areas where collaboration is warranted, such as stopping the flow of illegal guns to our city from the Iron Belt.
“We remain committed to keeping New Yorkers safe while upholding our constitutional rights,” Adams continued.
“As highlighted in this brief, the president is continuing to treat American cities as military ‘training grounds’ based on pretext and misinformation that is contrary to the facts on the ground,” said New York City Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant. “Federalizing and domestically deploying the National Guard can sow chaos in local communities and should be a last resort, not a primary tactic, reserved for exceedingly rare circumstances.
“The district court ruling enjoining the federal government should be upheld,” she added.
Adams noted that, in September 2025, the Trump administration deployed members of the National Guard to Portland, citing protests of immigration enforcement operations.
On Oct. 4, 2025, Adams said the US District Court for the District of Oregon ruled that the deployment likely violated federal law because plaintiffs submitted evidence that the cited protests were not significantly violent or disruptive in the days or weeks leading up to the president’s directive.
Adams said the federal government filed an application in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit seeking an immediate stay of the district court’s temporary restraining order.
In the amicus brief, Adams said the coalition argues that the federal government has overreached its authority and that the lower court’s injunction should remain in place, based on longstanding federal laws prohibiting the National Guard from engaging in domestic law enforcement.
The brief asserts that the federal government has provided no factual basis or legal justification for deploying 200 federal troops in Portland over the objection of local officials.
The coalition states that there was no invasion or rebellion directed toward the federal government that would have allowed it to lawfully deploy the National Guard under 10 U.S.C. 12406. This pretext dramatically increases the risk of irreparable injury by inflaming community tensions and interfering with local law enforcement personnel, who are better trained to manage situations such as protests and crowd control.
Further, Adams said the brief cites the chilling effect that National Guard deployments have on the local economy and taxpayers, as more customers stay inside and local businesses lose customers.
Additionally, the mayor said taxpayers are stuck paying the bill for these deployments: $134 million for Los Angeles alone and, potentially, at least $10 million for Oregon.
