Tensions escalated outside the ICE facility in South Portland on Tuesday night, where federal officers deployed pepper balls from the roof, patrolled nearby streets, and arrested at least four individuals.The four people were taken into the facility, though at least one was later released. Authorities did not immediately disclose what charges, if any, the individuals faced, according to KATU-TV.
The heightened federal presence on Tuesday followed President Donald Trump’s authorization over the weekend to deploy 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to help protect federal buildings in the city, including the ICE facility. It also comes amid a Democrat-fueled federal government shutdown after they refused to back a clean continuing resolution ahead of a midnight deadline.
But as the White House has repeatedly noted, Democrats who run Portland and the state have refused to act against the often-violent protesters who have literally kept some federal facilities under siege for years.
Dozens of federal agents marched outside the ICE facility Tuesday night, at one point tackling an individual to the ground before taking them into custody. Agents also deployed pepper balls before retreating into the building following repeated clashes with protesters.
In a separate confrontation, Border Patrol agents cleared the driveway to allow a vehicle to pass. During the standoff, one officer pulled a protester to the ground, and shortly afterward, two people were carried away by ICE agents.
Earlier in the evening, a man stood in the driveway of the facility as protesters urged him to move. When he refused, agents briefly pursued him before retreating.
Protesters told KATU News the individual was not affiliated with their group and that they did not know who he was.
“We kept our eye on him because safety of everybody out here, not just us, is one of the top priorities,” a protester who identified himself as Ritto told the local outlet. “And I just don’t want anybody who saw that clip to go ahead and look at that and be like, this is what they’re doing, because that’s not.”
Protesters have gathered outside the ICE facility regularly since June, with several confrontations reported during that time.
Many demonstrators expressed anger over Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to the city.
“I would love to say that it would make things better, but based off of the actions of the people inside without supervision, I have a feeling that this camp will be targeted very heavily,” Ritto said. “And all we can do is prepare and protect each other.”
Trump recently ordered National Guard troops and a surge in federal officers to Memphis, Tenn., as well, and was said to be considering increasing a federal presence in Chicago as well as New York City.
These deployments come after Trump first targeted the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., with a major crime reduction effort that many residents and local Democrats, some begrudgingly, admit has been successful. They say that the city feels safer and that criminal activity has been curbed.
An analysis of the data by the Associated Press found that more than 40 percent of the arrests made under the operation were for immigration violations, highlighting how the administration’s hardline immigration agenda was advanced in the nation’s capital.
The White House has touted the effort as a success, pointing to more than 2,300 arrests that included more than a dozen homicide suspects, 20 alleged gang members, and hundreds of people accused of gun and drug offenses.
Officials said more than 220 illegal firearms were seized, including one found with a teenager who had made a concerning social media post about a school, the outlet reported.
