Portland ICE Violence Escalates: Eviction Movement Grows
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While protests have been continuous in Portland, Oregon-and around much of the country-over the last year, crowds have flooded city streets as a reaction to shocking moments of ICE violence. On wednesday, January 7, ICE agents shot and killed a Minneapolis legal observer, Renee Good. The community response was swift as protests filled the icy streets of the Twin Cities, and Mayor Jacob Frey vocally demanded ICE “Get the fuck out of Minneapolis.” The federal government’s response was to have the FBI take over the inquiry of the shooting, blocking local and state law enforcement. The White House blamed Good’s death on a “left-wing conspiracy” and lied about the events that took place.
The following day, two people were shot by ICE officers in their vehicle near Adventist Health hospital in the southeast side of Portland. ICE claims, like the officers did in Minneapolis, that the two alleged Venezuelan migrants had “weaponized their vehicle.” After being shot the two fled in their vehicle three miles to an apartment complex parking lot where they ultimately made an emergency medical call and were subsequently arrested and sent to seperate critical care hospitals. DHS then went to social media to post photos of the alleged arrestees, saying, without providing evidence, that they were associates of the Tren de Aragua gang and involved in sex crimes.
“This is Oregon.We do not need you. You’re not welcome. And you need to get the hell out of our community,” said Oregon State Senator Casey Jama, himself a former refugee from Somalia, at a press conference just hours after the shooting.
Within hours, organizations called for demonstrations. Labor unions and immigrant rights groups held a candlelight vigil in front of city hall, across a park from the Justice center that had acted as the center of the city’s 2020 protest wave.
“It is indeed infuriating that this governance thinks that they can send their armed goons into our community to spill blood and expect no accountability,” said City Councilor Candace Avalos,whose district is home to the largest number of immigrants and refugees in the City of Portland.
“It is indeed infuriating that this administration thinks that they can send their armed goons into our community to spill blood and expect no accountability.”
At another rally on January 8, to mark how that violence has now hit closer to home, people crowded into the “fishbowl,” the amphitheater in the federal Terry Schrunk Plaza that was the site of over a dozen confrontations between Proud Boys and antifascist demonstrators during Trump’s first term. Other demonstrators set an American flag ablaze in front of the Justice Center, while others held signs placing blame solely on ICE and the president that funds them.
Portland Imposes Fees on ICE facility Landlords Amid Ongoing Protests
The City of Portland,Oregon,is attempting a novel approach to managing the financial fallout from frequent protests targeting a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. This comes after demonstrations intensified following a shooting on January 8,2026,and years of sustained activism.
Protests initially surged in July 2023, following reports of conditions within the ICE facility. Demonstrators returned to the facility the night after the initial protest and throughout the weekend, alongside other protests and candlelight vigils citywide.
The Portland Police Bureau incurred over $300,000 in overtime costs related to protest response, according to city records. Additionally, the use of chemical weapons by police during these events necessitated expensive cleanup, further straining the city’s budget.
In December 2025, Portland’s city council established an ordinance to impose fees on landlords of ICE facilities to recoup protest costs, understanding that ICE causes the disturbance rather than the community members responding to them.
City Councilor Juan Morillo explained the rationale behind the fees, stating, ”Cities impose impact-based assessments on stadiums, convention centers, nightlife districts… not because they have constant crowds, but because when crowds do happen, those facilities generate extraordinary public service obligations.” morillo added that the city has “very limited tools to address what’s going on at detention facilities as a local government… but we have an prospect here to do something.”
Reactions to the ordinance were divided. some viewed the fees as a potential deterrent to landlords leasing space to ICE, while others argued for more forceful action, such as outright eviction of ICE from the facility.
Organizations like Portland Contra las Deportaciones are now focusing on building a rapid response network to better mobilize during future protests. The January 8 shooting is expected to galvanize the movement further, but the specific strategies for future action remain under discussion.