Federal officers fire tear gas, make multiple arrests during protest outside Portland ICE facility

Hundreds of protesters marched to the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Facility on Saturday afternoon.

It is the latest demonstration since President Donald Trump announced last week he would deploy up to 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to Portland. Late Saturday afternoon, a federal judge temporarily blocked the deployment.

Before the temporary restraining order was known publicly, protesters gathered Saturday morning at nearby Elizabeth Caruthers Park in the South Waterfront neighborhood.

They later marched a few blocks toward the detention facility at around 1 p.m. and blocked the road in front of the building. Crowds gathered peacefully and mostly stayed concentrated in front of the facility. Soon after, federal law enforcement marched out of the center and fired tear gas and smoke canisters to disperse the crowd. They also fired pepper balls at people.

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It’s unclear how many were fired, but protesters near the front of the crowd said federal officers fired several canisters.

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Members of federal law enforcement also arrested at least seven people who were standing on the sidewalk outside the entrance to the facility. They continued to fire tear gas canisters around 1:20 p.m.

At least two of those arrested were released later that day.

John Jolley, a protester who was sitting on the curb across the facility, said he could still smell the tear gas when arrived Saturday afternoon. He said he would be encouraging other protesters to not “take the bait,” a common refrain among Portland’s leadership.

“What brought me out here was after 2020 and seeing what was done to our city by the publicity,” Jolley said. “I don’t want that to happen again.”

One of the protesters there was Steve Hall, who said he served three years in U.S. Army intelligence.

“They [Guard troops] don’t belong here,” Hall said. “Our police force is adequate to take care of anything and everything, including the city and the county.”

Brittanee Carr of Milwaukie brought her 5-year-old daughter to the protest. She said she her family has been following the protests on TikTok the past few days.

“I want to show her you know that this is not OK, that you can stand up for what you believe in, and we can come out here and we can protest peacefully,” Carr said.

Throughout the afternoon, federal law enforcement officers would occasionally walk out of the facility to disperse crowds and let federal vehicles inside the facility.