Federal officers use crowd control munitions as demonstrators protest outside Portland ICE building
Federal officers use crowd control munitions as demonstrators protest outside outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland on Jan. 31, 2026. The demonstration at the ICE facility was part of an earlier protest, dubbed “Labor Against ICE,” which began this afternoon at Elizabeth Caruthers Park in Portland’s South Waterfront neighborhood.
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Thousands of protesters turned out for a mostly peaceful demonstration Saturday in Portland to speak out against increased immigration enforcement. But, by the end of the day, scores of nonviolent protesters were hit with chemical munitions fired by federal officers responding to a smaller crowd directly outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
The union-organized protest began several blocks from the Portland ICE building and included a march through the city’s South Waterfront neighborhood. During the march, sometime after 4 p.m., some protesters crowded the immigration building’s driveway, blocking a security gate that leads into the facility.
Federal officers stationed at the ICE building deployed tear gas that drifted through the air, traveling several blocks and into the larger crowd of demonstrators made up of families, including children and elderly people. Many held signs that read “Immigrants are not Criminals Our President Is!!” and “ICE Out of Our Communities,” but were forced to scatter and abandon the march after they were hit by the thick chemical mist.
Later, some protesters directly outside the ICE building also appeared to throw objects towards the roof where federal officers fired crowd control munitions, including flash-bang grenades and pepper balls.
The demonstration at the ICE facility was part of an earlier protest, dubbed “Labor Against ICE,” which began this afternoon at Elizabeth Caruthers Park in Portland’s South Waterfront neighborhood. Portland police posted online that the “irritant gas” as of 5 p.m. had drifted far enough to allow officers to reopen traffic on South Macadam Ave.
Portland police say they would continue to monitor the protest and that “people should absolutely expect to see officers in the area offering facilitation and public safety.”
The weekend demonstrations followed a nationwide general strike, which called on all Americans to refrain from going to work or shopping, while encouraging businesses to close their doors for the day.
In Eugene, police declared a riot Friday night at the Federal Building after they said “some protesters breached the building and went inside.” The riot followed hours of protest in Eugene, where demonstrators lined the streets around the building to rally against ICE as part of the nationwide general strike.
Gas has dissipated enough to allow us to reopen S. Macadam Ave to traffic. S. Bancroft remains closed east of Macadam. PPB officers have NOT used munitions. Officers are monitoring.
Members from at least 30 unions joined the daytime rally in Portland Saturday to protest ICE. Leaders for the various unions told a crowd of thousands that increased enforcement by ICE is a labor issue that affects workers across Oregon.
Nathaniel Hancock works at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Beaverton and is a member of SEIU Local 49. After seeing what’s happening in Minneapolis, Hancock said he wanted to come out to show his support.
“There are a ton more people than I was expecting,” he said. “It’s pretty inspiring.”
Hancock said he doesn’t know what will come out of today’s protest, but hopes it builds on communities coming together during challenging times.
“I don’t know if today is going to change anything necessarily, but I really just hope that it builds some community and it builds some connections between people and builds solidarity between the working class,” he said.
Organizers told OPB Friday that it’s a level of union turnout not seen for many years in Portland.
“Something like this — where it isn’t because a union is out on strike, but rather workers speaking up — is not quite that common,” said Tyler Fellini, executive director of Portland Jobs with Justice.
Fellini said that’s due to the recent general strike by labor unions in Minnesota, which has captured the nation’s attention in response to a large influx of federal agents in that state.
Federal agents shot and killed Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, igniting a new wave of protests against the presence of ICE in Minnesota. Pretti was also a union member, prompting the president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO to call on ICE to leave the state.
“It has really kind of put a bit of urgency for labor to start showing up,” Fellini said. “I know that a lot of us want to.”
Melissa Unger, executive director of SEIU Local 503, said many of their members have started carrying their passports on the job. No matter their citizenship status, many are fearful about potentially interacting with immigration agents, she said.
“I’ve heard from workers who have said, ‘The only time I ever leave my house is for my job,’” Unger said. “The fear is across the board, because it doesn’t feel like there’s rhyme or reason to how ICE is choosing to approach people or detain people.”
Meg Ward, president of CWA Local 7901, said there are still concerns that the federal government could launch an operation in Oregon on a similar level to what’s occurring in Minnesota. She said the protest could be a training ground for how labor unions in Oregon respond.
“This hasn’t happened before, and I think that there’s going to be more and more tests like this in our future here,” Ward said. “And we have to build upon it.”