Portland’s Labor Against ICE March Faces Brutal Federal Response

On Saturday, January 31st, a massive crowd descended on Elizabeth Caruthers Park, just a few blocks away from the ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, for a Labor Against ICE rally and march. The event, organized by a coalition of labor unions and community members, attracted an estimated 5,000 people, an unprecedented turnout for the park and ICE facility, according to numerous locals.

Unions and community groups from all sectors, teachers, nurses, physicians, and working families, gathered in solidarity to demand an end to ICE's presence in the city and continued violence across the country. Among the crowd were elderly folks, young children, and activists who had been organizing for years. The atmosphere was charged with anger, hope and determination.

But what started as a peaceful rally quickly escalated into a violent assault by federal agents, exposing the brutal force deployed against protestors and raising critical questions about the militarization of law enforcement in the U.S.

By 4:05 p.m., the massive crowd began marching towards the ICE facility. The march itself did not stop at the facility, instead, they turned the corner on S Bancroft Street. But the crowd in front of the facility gradually grew in size as the march continued coming through. The mood was upbeat, and the chants rang out on the abnormally sunny January afternoon. However, less than 30 minutes later, everything changed.

Without warning, federal officers stationed at the ICE facility launched the first canister of tear gas into the crowd. Within seconds, the scene became a blur of flashing lights, loud explosions, and choking chemical clouds. Federal agents were armed with rubber bullets, pepper balls, flash bang grenades, and a variety of other munitions, indiscriminately targeting protesters and filling our city with teargas.

Protesters, many of whom were just standing in front of the facility chanting, were caught off guard. Several union members, who had been part of the picket line, found themselves quickly overwhelmed by the force of the attack.

As seen in the post above, the teargas was still visible for blocks ten minutes after federal agents had teargassed the crowd.

Independent journalist Kevin Foster, who was present at the scene, recalled, “In some ways, what happened didn’t surprise me. Watching that first canister arc over a line of protesters instantly brought me back to the many moments I’ve witnessed it before. What shocked me was watching agents come out and continue to throw gas in the direction of the march, at least that’s how it looked from where I was standing."

During this first barrage of teargas and “less lethals,” federal agents also shot out the window of a local resident's apartment.

As the teargas filled the air, the chaos unfolded quickly. Protesters, many of whom had little to no time to react, found themselves walking blindly through the thick clouds.

The attack was so severe that even people still at the park, far from the ICE facility, were affected. One rally-goer recounted, “they tear-gassed us so early, and we were just walking by. Hundreds of people got hit. The whole neighborhood was full of it. I could feel it all the way to OHSU.”

"People of all ages tried to flee as fast as they could, while sickened and half-blind from the vicious chemicals clouding the air. Residents of a low-income housing complex across the street watched in horror. Nearby, a six-year-old wondered if the unicorn she saw marching earlier was ok."

The brutality of the assault was not lost on anyone present. Federal agents, both on the ground and positioned on the rooftops, fired tear gas canisters directly into the crowd, and many munitions were aimed directly at people’s heads. As the canisters hissed through the air, the deafening sound of flashbang grenades filled the streets, creating an atmosphere of utter confusion and fear to rally goers, many who said this was their first time attending a protest. To call it all excessive is an understatement.

A street medic that I spoke with on the condition of anonymity shared their experience with me, describing it as something that would forever be seeped into their memory. They recalled how they began moving against the flow of the crowd as people were fleeing the area, trying to help guide folks away from the oncoming cloud and to safety, and directing folks away from the flow of the gas. By the time they made it towards the corner of Moody and Lowell, they recalled the gas clouds were so thick, they could hardly see 5ft ahead of them:

This couple with a stroller emerged from the cloud with their maybe 2 or 3 year old daughter sitting barely conscious in that stroller. The parents were coughing and could barely walk, couldn’t see anything, this poor little girl was covered in her own vomit and sputum and mucus was pouring from her nose. She was just sitting there barely conscious, wheezing heavily, barely breathing through the wheezing…

I did what I could and rushed them out of the oncoming cloud and I tried to help that girl but my comrade had gotten separated from me and there were two other EMTs who saw me coming and took the girl to get her far enough away to get her an ambulance. I didn’t want to leave her side, everything inside of me was saying not to leave her side but there were way more kids and parents trapped in the gas cloud who desperately needed help and the other two medics assured me they were rushing her and her parents to safety, so I just bolted back into the cloud to find more stragglers.

The medic told me that they had treated at least four children that day, adding "I’m never ever going to forget the sounds of those kids wailing in pain hacking up a lung in full panic mode. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in my 8+ years of street medicine and EMS work."

I’ve been working in this field for over 8 years now and I’ve seen a lot of shit, but that was truly one of the most terrible things Ive witnessed and I never thought that I’d have to see actual children getting gassed like that but here we are I suppose.

A Community’s Resilience

Amid the chaos, one thing stood out: the resilience and solidarity of the Portland community.

Medics and regular community members sprang into action, helping those affected by the gas and munitions. Parents frantically washed the eyes of their children, trying to flush out the toxic chemicals. Strangers helped each other escape the gas, guiding them to safety and offering water and saline to rinse their eyes.

In a chaotic moment that could have easily led to tragedy, people found a way to look out for one another. The community’s quick response helped avoid what could have been a much worse situation.

People were helping each other through the streets, ushering those with respiratory issues and their pets away from the gas. A line of children waited to be treated by street medics, their faces etched with confusion and fear. It was another painful reminder of how this violence impacts the most vulnerable in our communities.

A little over an hour after the first round of teargas, a dumpster got rolled into the driveway. The dumpster got rolled there, abandoned, and at that point, there was not one person standing on their driveway or over their imaginary border and thin blue line. Not one minute later, a second barrage of teargas and various munitions were deployed again.

The gas was so thick and had penetrated my full-face gas mask. I had to move away for some reprieve, but by then, there was nowhere to go. Teargas had engulfed the entire area and they continued firing off canisters and other munitions. I watched from around the corner as flash bang grenades lit up the area and birds got scared into hiding.

A local photographer who wished to remain anonymous, and has been photographing Portland for years, compared this event to another, "Teargas Tuesday” - a day during the 2020 George Floyd Uprising that earned its moniker when Portland police unleashed relentless teargas on downtown, trapping bystanders and children in the midst of it. The amount of chemical munitions used that day made it almost impossible to function. "The amount of tear gas and chemical munitions used over the weekend was completely overwhelming, and made being in front of the building difficult even with a gas mask on. My camera seized up and stopped working three different times because of how dense the gas was, only working after I removed the battery and put it back in. In each instance, what came before the initial barrage of munitions was nothing but people standing in a driveway or on a sidewalk, chanting and holding signs."

Although shocking, this type of violence is nothing new. The assault on January 31st is a continuation of a growing pattern of militarized responses by federal agents and police against protesters, particularly in Portland, but around the country too. Places like Minneapolis, Atlanta, NYC, LA, and Chicago are among the cities who continue to face escalated repression. What happened on that day, the unnecessary escalation of force, was nothing more than another brutal attempt to silence dissent and instill fear in the community.

Foster, reflecting on the events, added: "They could have made arrests, shot pepper balls at people up front, or done any number of things that would have been more measured or de-escalated. Instead they opted for the nuclear option, blowing their lids and gassing kids. They weren’t even using the driveway when this happened. I’m tired of people talking about training. They’ve done this for months. They’ve shot my colleagues with pepper balls. They’re literally being fucking sued for this as we speak. They just had a TRO [Temporary Restraining Order] put on them. I have no way of knowing what’s going through these officers’ heads, but it really does look like a power trip.”

Despite the ongoing lawsuits and court orders against federal agents, their behavior continues to escalate. Federal agents have been under scrutiny for months, yet their actions signal a deliberate, coordinated effort to quash protest movements using overwhelming force.

The events of January 31st were not just another protest gone wrong, they were a grotesque reminder of how far federal agents are willing to go to silence resistance. However, the people of Portland have a long memory, and once again, they have proved their strength and resilience. Amid the chaos, they found ways to protect each other, ensuring that the spirit of solidarity lived on in the face of overwhelming force.

February 1st

"Their violence will only serve to unify and radicalize people"

In Portland, the situation continues to worsen. Despite ongoing lawsuits and recent temporary restraining orders, the federal government’s use of military grade force against its citizens is becoming increasingly normalized.

The violence that unfolded on Saturday left Portlanders angered and determined. The very next day, at least 500 people gathered to march in remembrance of those killed at the hands of ICE. The energy was high, as people gathered near the ICE facility and began chanting, “Fuck ICE!” and “ICE out!”

Within 30 minutes of the march arriving, federal agents began shooting pepper balls down at the crowd from the roof.

The agents continued firing pepper balls at random, targeting protesters and anyone near the building. But the crowd didn’t back down. Even after being hit, many remained undeterred, continuing to stand their ground. Some even dancing as the pepper balls were raining down from overhead.

Less than an hour later, another round of teargas and flash bang grenades was unleashed, once again, on a crowd simply standing and chanting in front of the building.

Amidst the violent chemical attack and barrage of “less lethal” munitions, one person was brutally arrested, tackled off a ledge and thrown onto the concrete. As the federal agents retreated, I walked half a mile away where I came across someone who had just been affected by the teargas, despite being far from the scene. A woman, walking her dog, had seen the chaos unfold and ran inside, coughing uncontrollably.

Just passed the park, a young girl had gotten out of a car that had just parked,. Upon getting out, she immediately started saying “oww” repeatedly as she was choking. The older woman who was with her rushed her inside. Also a few blocks away from the facility, we watched as an ambulance came to rescue someone who had been suffering from teargas exposure.

The use of chemical munitions on that Sunday was far-reaching. Reports poured in from across the city, with people complaining of exposure even when they weren’t involved in the protest. Some felt it at OHSU, a nearby hospital, and others on their college campus at Portland State University, and many more who weren’t even near the protest site. The impact was far beyond what any of us imagined. Some reports of exposure happened while people were at work, on the bus, and even over 1.5 miles away from the ICE facility.

The events of January 31st and February 1st were an escalation of violence that has been ongoing in Portland and across the country. But what’s clearer than ever is the Portland community’s unshakable resolve to resist and stand in solidarity with one another.

As one protestor said after the January 31st assault:

I think Saturday’s brutality had the opposite effect the feds were hoping for, seen by the massive amount of people who showed up the very next day. Instead of scaring people away it made people pissed, and people turned out in numbers to make a point. Their violence will only serve to unify and radicalize people, who for their first times are experiencing first-hand what purpose the cops and feds serve.

Portland's resolve is stronger than ever. In the face of escalating brutality, people are still standing strong, dancing through the gas, and refusing to back down. For many, Saturday’s violence didn’t deter them, it made them more determined. Some of the first-time marchers said they would come back with gas masks of their own.

The fight against fascism continues, and Portland is showing us all that when it comes to resisting ICE and its violent tactics, they have no intention of backing down. This is just the beginning.

Recommended Reading:

Crossing the Line: It Really Is Safer in the Front

A participant in a demonstration in Portland describes the experience of collectively crossing the line into revolt.

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