Several members of Thompson’s marching band, Banana Bloc, were caught in a cloud of pepper spray when federal officers deployed the gas into a crowd. The affected musicians were rushed out of the melee to receive emergency medical aid.
Beate Weiss-Krull, a naturalized citizen from Germany who has lived in the U.S. for 30 years, looked at the chaos as she covered her mouth and nose to protect against the gas.
“Without the anti-fascism movement, Germany would be under control of the Nazis,” she said, adding that she is “horrified” by the Trump administration’s use of federal law enforcement and its aggressive crackdown of immigrants.
Anti-ICE protesters called for federal law enforcement forces to leave Portland and for the city to revoke a conditional use permit that allowed the Trump administration to use a facility for enforcement actions.Alicia Lozano / NBC News
Led by Holly Brown from Portland Contra Las Deportaciones, an immigrant rights organization, Sunday’s demonstration started with a short march from Elizabeth Caruthers Park to the nearby ICE facility. People chanted “Immigrants are welcome here” and “We will not put up with ICE.”
As of Sunday night, there were no arrests, according to a statement from Portland Police.
Outside the center, protesters carrying an “Abolish ICE” sign were confronted by a man who drove his truck within inches of them. The driver jumped out and yelled for protesters to not touch his truck. The passenger rolled down her window to berate protesters.
A woman in a truck yells at anti-ICE protesters to get out of her way, but the demonstrators refused to move.Alicia Lozano / NBC News
The tense standoff betrayed what have been mostly peaceful protests characterized by inflatable costumes and, as of Sunday, nudity.
Anti-ICE protesters have called for the immigration facility to be shut down, an idea that the city appears to be considering.
Last month, city officials warned the building’s owner that ICE might be violating its conditional use permit by holding detainees longer than was agreed.
The U.S. General Services Administration has operated the facility since 2011 as a processing center where immigration officials can check in with asylum-seekers and immigrants. According to the permit, the federal government cannot hold detainees for more than 12 hours.
Mayor Keith Wilson said that the agreement had been repeatedly broken between Oct. 1, 2024, and July 27.
“U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement made clear detention limitation commitments to our community, and we believe they broke those policies more than two dozen times,” Wilson said in a statement. “I am proud of our team for conducting a thorough, thoughtful investigation, and referring the matter to the next steps in the land use violation process.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.