PORTLAND, Ore. — In a dramatic escalation following the use of tear gas against demonstrators at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson has demanded that federal agents vacate the city. The incident unfolded during a peaceful protest where thousands of marchers were met with rubber bullets and chemical agents by federal law enforcement.
Witnesses described harrowing scenes of panic among families, with Erin Hoover Barnett noting the chaos as parents attempted to shield their young children from the incoming gas. To be among parents frantically trying to tend to little children in strollers, people using motorized carts trying to navigate as the rest of us staggered in retreat, unsure of how to get to safety, was terrifying, Barnett recounted.
Mayor Wilson condemned the actions of ICE, stating that the majority of the protesters posed no threat and were merely exercising their rights to peaceful demonstration. To those who continue to work for ICE: Resign. To those who control this facility: Leave. Through your use of violence and the trampling of the Constitution, you have lost all legitimacy and replaced it with shame, he said in a statement.
The Portland Fire Bureau provided on-site medical assistance, although no arrests were reported. The protest was part of a larger nationwide movement against the federal government's aggressive immigration policies.
Wilson further announced plans to impose financial penalties on detention facilities utilizing chemical weapons against protesters, asserting the importance of accountability for federal actions. The federal government must, and will, be held accountable. Go home, look in a mirror, and ask yourselves why you have gassed children, he declared.
As tension between local authorities and federal agents continues to rise, Mayor Wilson’s firm stance may signal a growing pushback against federal policies perceived as oppressive, particularly within immigrant communities.
