Portland Residents Sue Feds Over Tear Gas Drifting Into Homes Near ICE Facility
- — Residents of an affordable housing complex in Portland, Oregon, are asking a federal judge to limit the use of tear gas and other chemical munitions by federal...
- The lawsuit, filed in December, argues that the repeated deployment of tear gas has violated residents’ rights to life, liberty, and property.
- Tenants have described taking extraordinary measures to protect themselves, including purchasing gas masks for use inside their homes, sealing windows with tape, and stuffing wet towels under doors.
Portland Residents Seek Limits on Tear Gas Use Near ICE Facility
PORTLAND, Ore. — Residents of an affordable housing complex in Portland, Oregon, are asking a federal judge to limit the use of tear gas and other chemical munitions by federal agents during protests outside the nearby U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building. A hearing on the matter was scheduled for Friday, .
The lawsuit, filed in December, argues that the repeated deployment of tear gas has violated residents’ rights to life, liberty, and property. Residents of Gray’s Landing, which sits less than 100 feet from the ICE building, have reported health problems and disruptions to their lives due to the chemical irritants drifting into their apartments.
Tenants have described taking extraordinary measures to protect themselves, including purchasing gas masks for use inside their homes, sealing windows with tape, and stuffing wet towels under doors. Some have reported children seeking refuge in closets during tear gas deployments.
According to court filings, residents have experienced stinging in their eyes and noses, and some have even been hit with pepper balls fired by federal law enforcement. One tenant reportedly received a medical recommendation for adrenal gland surgery due to elevated cortisol levels linked to the repeated exposure to chemical munitions.
The plaintiffs – tenants and REACH Community Development, the nonprofit that manages the Gray’s Landing complex – are seeking a court order blocking the use of tear gas unless it’s necessary to respond to an imminent threat. They argue that federal agents have been overly aggressive in deploying these munitions.
Federal authorities maintain that the use of chemical munitions is necessary to manage crowds during protests, which have been ongoing since late spring 2025. U.S. Department of Justice attorneys contend that the Constitution does not require law enforcement to rely solely on physical confrontation when dealing with unlawful crowds.
The case comes after a federal judge already issued a temporary restriction on the use of tear gas in Oregon. On , U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon issued a two-week ban on the use of chemical munitions, with limited exceptions.
The recent surge in protests, and subsequent use of tear gas, followed the shooting deaths of two U.S. Citizens in Minneapolis by federal law enforcement in January. Protests in January and early February resulted in hundreds of protesters being exposed to tear gas outside the ICE building, including children and elderly individuals. Images of people flushing their eyes with water circulated on social media.
On , federal officers reportedly fired a projectile that broke a window in a Gray’s Landing apartment. A mother and daughter inside the apartment reportedly vomited as a result of the gas that entered their home.
Attorneys for both sides did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.