A federal judge in Oregon temporarily blocked US President Donald Trump’s administration from deploying the National Guard in Portland, ruling on Saturday in a lawsuit brought by the state and city.

US District Judge Karin Immergut issued the order pending further arguments in the suit.

She said the relatively small protests the city has seen did not justify the use of federalised forces and allowing the deployment could harm Oregon's state sovereignty.

“This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs," Immergut wrote.

She later continued, “This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.”

State and city officials sued to stop the deployment last week, one day after the Trump administration announced that 200 Oregon National Guard troops would be federalised to protect federal buildings.

The president called the city “war-ravaged.”

Oregon officials said that characterisation was ludicrous.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) building in the city has been the site of nightly protests that typically drew a couple dozen people in recent weeks before the deployment was announced. (AP)