Karin Johanna Immergut is a U.S. District Judge for the District of Oregon whose recent ruling stopped the Trump administration from sending National Guard troops—whether from Oregon, California, or Texas—into Portland. Her decision, issued in early October 2025, expanded an earlier order that had prohibited the federal government from activating Oregon’s own Guard for domestic enforcement. In her latest order, she made clear that federal power could not be used to sidestep state authority by bringing in Guard units from other states.
Immergut’s reasoning rested on constitutional limits designed to prevent the use of military force in civilian settings without clear authorization. She cited both state sovereignty and statutory constraints as central to her decision. The order blocks the federal government from deploying any National Guard units into Oregon without state consent, effectively closing off one of the administration’s main options for restoring order through force. The case remains open to appeal, but for now, her ruling stands as the controlling legal barrier.
Immergut was born on December 22, 1960, in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Amherst College in 1982 and earned her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1987. She began her career in private practice before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California, where she prosecuted narcotics, money-laundering, and organized crime cases. She later worked in Oregon, handling a range of federal prosecutions, including financial crimes and elder fraud.
In 1998, she joined the Office of the Independent Counsel under Kenneth Starr, where she participated in questioning Monica Lewinsky during the Clinton impeachment investigation. That episode placed her briefly in the national spotlight and showed her willingness to engage in politically charged legal work while maintaining professional restraint.
After returning to Oregon, she served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon from 2003 to 2009, appointed by President George W. Bush. In that role, she oversaw criminal prosecutions and coordinated with state and local law enforcement. Following her federal service, she became a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge, presiding over civil and criminal cases for nearly a decade. In 2019, she was confirmed as a federal district judge after being nominated by President Donald Trump, receiving bipartisan support. She was later appointed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which reviews government surveillance requests related to national security.
Her judicial record reflects a cautious, methodical approach to law. She tends to interpret statutes narrowly, focusing on text and precedent rather than policy outcomes. Her rulings show a preference for procedural discipline and a consistent emphasis on the boundaries between state and federal authority. Legal observers note that even though she was appointed by a Republican administration, her decisions have shown independence from political influence.
The National Guard ruling aligns with that record. Rather than addressing political motivations, she focused on the structure of power itself—who has the authority to deploy military forces and under what conditions. Her order suggests that she sees her role as enforcing limits rather than enabling executive flexibility. The decision cites the same principles that have long guided her opinions: adherence to process, skepticism toward overreach, and respect for the constitutional separation between civilian and military authority.
Immergut is not known for public commentary, and her court opinions rarely include personal reflection. But taken together, her work presents a clear judicial philosophy. She views the judiciary as a stabilizing force, one that must maintain legal clarity even when political circumstances are volatile. Her latest ruling in the National Guard case follows that logic: a straightforward application of legal constraints to an executive action that, in her view, exceeded its statutory bounds.
In Oregon and beyond, the case has made her one of the most closely watched federal judges in the country. Whether or not her decision survives appeal, Judge Karin Immergut has already shaped the legal debate over how far a president can go in using military resources on domestic soil.