The mayor of Portland, Oregon, has demanded that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement leave the city after federal agents fired tear gas at a crowd of protesters, including young children, outside an ICE facility during a weekend demonstration that he and others described as peaceful.
Witnesses said agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets as thousands of marchers arrived at the South Waterfront facility on Saturday. Erin Hoover Barnett, a former reporter, said she saw two men with "what looked like rocket launchers" dousing the crowd with gas, causing panic among parents with strollers.
Mayor Keith Wilson said the protest was peaceful and called on ICE agents to resign and for the facility to be vacated, accusing them of using violence and trampling the constitution. Police monitored but made no arrests, and paramedics treated people at the scene.
The Portland protest was part of a series of demonstrations against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. In Eugene, Oregon, federal agents also used tear gas on Friday. President Donald Trump defended the use of force, instructing the homeland security secretary to ensure federal property is protected.
Wilson announced that the city would impose a fee on detention facilities that use chemical agents, stating that the federal government must be held accountable.
