{"id":441934,"date":"2026-02-01T01:49:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T01:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/441934\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T01:49:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T01:49:14","slug":"thousands-flood-downtown-portland-for-labor-against-ice-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/441934\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands flood downtown Portland for \u2018Labor Against ICE\u2019 protest"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Tear gas is deployed as hundreds of people protest outside of the ICE building in Portland, Jan. 31, 2026. <\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tear gas is deployed as hundreds of people protest outside of the ICE building in Portland, Jan. 31, 2026. <\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tear gas used on protesters and children protesting at the Portland ICE building, after thousands gather downtown for \u2018Labor Against ICE\u2019 rally in Portland, Jan. 31, 2026. <\/p>\n

Joni Auden Land \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tear gas used on protesters and children protesting at the Portland ICE building, after thousands gather downtown for \u2018Labor Against ICE\u2019 rally in Portland, Jan. 31, 2026. <\/p>\n

Joni Auden Land \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tear gas is deployed as hundreds of people protest outside of the ICE building in Portland, Jan. 31, 2026. <\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tear gas is deployed as hundreds of people protest outside of the ICE building in Portland, Jan. 31, 2026. <\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tear gas is deployed as hundreds of people protest outside of the ICE building in Portland, Jan. 31, 2026. <\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tear gas is deployed as hundreds of people protest outside of the ICE building in Portland, Jan. 31, 2026. <\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Geovanna Lopez, a nurse, holds up a sign saying “ICE Murders Nurses” at the “Labor Against ICE” protest in Portland on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

SEIU Local 503 members cheer at the “Labor Against ICE” protest in Portland on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thousands gather at Elizabeth Caruthers Park in Portland for the “Labor Against ICE” protest on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Evelyn, whose parents identified her by first name only, blows bubbles while wearing an anti-Trump sticker on her dress at the rally.<\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thousands of people have flooded Elizabeth Caruthers Park in Portland for the Labor Against ICE protest. Leaders from various unions told the large crowd that increased ICE enforcement is a labor issue affecting workers across Oregon.<\/p>\n

Joni Land \/ OPB<\/p>\n

\uf054<\/p>\n

A large protest, dubbed \u201cLabor Against ICE,\u201d is underway as thousands of people gather in downtown Portland Saturday.<\/p>\n

The group began marching this afternoon from Elizabeth Caruthers Park to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland\u2019s South Waterfront neighborhood forcing police to shut down nearby roads. <\/p>\n

All streets surrounding Elizabeth Caruthers Park are blocked now and a march enroute to the ICE facility. S Bancroft St is blocked at S. Macadam Ave, no vehicle access.<\/p>\n

\u2014 PPB Event Messages (@PPBAlerts) February 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Portland police say they will continue to monitor the protest and that \u201cpeople should absolutely expect to see officers in the area offering facilitation and public safety.\u201d <\/p>\n

Members from at least 30 unions are joining today\u2019s rally to protest against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. <\/p>\n

Leaders from various unions told the large crowd that increased ICE enforcement is a labor issue affecting workers across Oregon.<\/p>\n

\"SEIU<\/p>\n

SEIU Local 503 members cheer at the “Labor Against ICE” protest in Portland on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

Nathaniel Hancock works at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Beaverton and is a member of SEIU Local 49. After seeing what\u2019s happening in Minneapolis, Hancock said he wanted to come out to show his support. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a ton more people than I was expecting,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hancock said he doesn\u2019t know what will come out of today\u2019s protest, but hopes it builds on communities coming together during challenging times. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if today is going to change anything necessarily, but I really just hope that it builds some community and it builds some connections between people and builds solidarity between the working class,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Organizers told OPB Friday that it\u2019s a level of union turnout not seen for many years in Portland. <\/p>\n

\u201cSomething like this \u2014 where it isn\u2019t because a union is out on strike, but rather workers speaking up \u2014 is not quite that common,\u201d said Tyler Fellini, executive director of Portland Jobs with Justice. <\/p>\n

Fellini said that\u2019s due to the recent general strike by labor unions in Minnesota, which has captured the nation\u2019s attention in response to a large influx of federal agents in that state.<\/p>\n

Federal agents shot and killed Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, igniting a new wave of protests against the presence of ICE in Minnesota. Pretti was also a union member, prompting the president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO to call on ICE to leave the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has really kind of put a bit of urgency for labor to start showing up,\u201d Fellini said. \u201cI know that a lot of us want to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s protests also followed a nationwide general strike, which called on all Americans to refrain from going to work or shopping, while encouraging businesses to close their doors for the day. Many Oregon businesses opted to stay open and donate<\/a> a portion of their proceeds to causes supporting immigrants\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n

In Eugene, police declared a riot Friday night<\/a> at the Federal Building after they said \u201csome protesters breached the building and went inside.\u201d <\/p>\n

The riot followed hours of protest in Eugene, where demonstrators lined the streets around the building to rally against ICE as part of the nationwide general strike on Friday.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear just how many people will show up to Saturday\u2019s demonstration, but multiple unions told OPB there has been significant interest from their members. There are plans for separate demonstrations to join<\/a>, as well. <\/p>\n

\"Geovanna<\/p>\n

Geovanna Lopez, a nurse, holds up a sign saying “ICE Murders Nurses” at the “Labor Against ICE” protest in Portland on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n

Melissa Unger, executive director of SEIU Local 503, said many of their members have started carrying their passports on the job. No matter their citizenship status, many are fearful about potentially interacting with immigration agents, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard from workers who have said, \u2018The only time I ever leave my house is for my job,\u2019\u201d Unger said. \u201cThe fear is across the board, because it doesn\u2019t feel like there\u2019s rhyme or reason to how ICE is choosing to approach people or detain people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meg Ward, president of CWA Local 7901, said there are still concerns that the federal government could launch an operation in Oregon on a similar level to what\u2019s occurring in Minnesota. She said the protest could be a training ground for how labor unions in Oregon respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis hasn\u2019t happened before, and I think that there\u2019s going to be more and more tests like this in our future here,\u201d Ward said. \u201cAnd we have to build upon it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Evelyn,<\/p>\n

Evelyn, whose parents identified her by first name only, blows bubbles while wearing an anti-Trump sticker on her dress at the rally.<\/p>\n

Eli Imadali \/ OPB<\/p>\n