Federal agents deployed tear gas and chemical munitions against protesters and journalists at Portland ICE facility

Over the weekend of January 31 and into February 1, 2026, federal agents deployed tear gas and chemical munitions against crowds of protesters and freelance journalists gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in South Portland, Oregon. The deployments were part of an ongoing pattern of force used against demonstrators at the facility, where nightly protests had drawn a sustained federal response. Protesters and journalists reported being gassed and struck with less-lethal projectiles while documenting or peacefully demonstrating against immigration enforcement.

The conduct was challenged in litigation brought by protesters and freelance journalists, represented in part by the ACLU of Oregon, who alleged that agents deployed chemical munitions in retaliation for constitutionally protected First Amendment activity; separate suits were filed by residents of a nearby low-income apartment complex into which the gas drifted. The suits sought to restrain federal agents from using tear gas, pepper balls, and other crowd-control munitions against people who posed no threat.

This entry records the underlying use of force against protesters and the press. Because state violence directed at protected assembly and at journalists documenting government conduct — rather than at a genuine, imminent threat — strikes at the accountability that is supposed to constrain how the government polices dissent, the deployments and the court proceedings they prompted belong in the record.

Updates

2026-02-03 — Federal judge restricted agents' use of tear gas and munitions [1, 2]

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon issued a temporary restraining order barring federal agents from deploying tear gas, chemical agents, and less-lethal munitions against crowds at the Portland ICE facility unless a specific person posed an imminent threat of physical harm.

2026-02-16 — Oregon Attorney General filed evidence and arguments supporting the lawsuit [7, 8]

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield's office submitted testimony and evidence to the district court supporting the ACLU of Oregon's lawsuit, urging a preliminary injunction against federal agents' use of tear gas, pepper balls, and other crowd-control munitions at the Portland ICE facility. The filing included witness declarations describing panic and confusion as tear gas spread through a "densely packed crowd" of protesters during the January 31 demonstration.

2026-03-09 — Judge continued and expanded the restrictions [3]

Judge Simon continued and broadened the order restricting agents' use of tear gas and chemical munitions on protesters at the facility.

2026-03-25 — Ninth Circuit paused the district-court orders [4]

A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel stayed the district-court orders, temporarily allowing federal agents to resume using crowd-control munitions while the government's appeal proceeded.

2026-07-10 — Trump administration urged the Ninth Circuit to lift the limits [5, 6]

The Trump administration urged a Ninth Circuit panel to leave federal agents free to deploy tear gas and chemical munitions at the facility, as the dispute over the district court's restrictions returned before the appeals court.