Night after night, demonstrators gather outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement building, a routine that has continued since July. On Wednesday, Deidra Watts arrived with a gas mask hanging from her backpack, joining a small crowd of protesters standing on a blue line painted across the driveway. The warning on the pavement read, “GOVERNMENT PROPERTY DO NOT BLOCK.” When they lingered too long, officers stationed on the roof fired what appeared to be pepper balls. No injuries were reported, and the group began to thin out by midnight.
Although disruptive to nearby residents, one charter school reportedly relocated to avoid the regular use of crowd-control devices, the demonstrations look very different from the chaos that swept Portland after George Floyd’s murder in 2020. Still, they have caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who last week described Portland as “like living in hell” and said he was weighing the deployment of federal troops, similar to actions he has threatened in Chicago and Baltimore.
Statistics suggest a different picture. Violent crime has declined nationally, including in Portland, where a recent Major Cities Chiefs Association report showed a 51 percent drop in homicides in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period the year before. “There’s a propaganda campaign to make it look like Portland is a hellscape,” said Casey Leger, 61, who often observes detainee transfers outside the ICE facility. “Two blocks away you can just go to the river and sit and sip a soda and watch the birds.”
READ ALSO: Threats force lockdowns and class cancellations at historically Black colleges
During the day, advocates like Leger distribute “know your rights” flyers to residents and visitors. At night, protesters arrive dressed in black with helmets and masks. Watts said she views ICE as a cruel and heartless system. “In the face of that, there has to be people who will stand up and make it known that that’s not gonna fly, that that’s not something the people agree with,” she said. The agency did not respond to requests for comment.
The protests reached their height in June following nationwide “No Kings” marches, one of which was declared a riot by Portland police. Since then, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon has filed federal charges against at least 26 demonstrators, including accusations of assaulting federal officers. Mayor Keith Wilson pushed back against Trump’s threat of intervention. “Like other mayors across the country, I have not asked for – and do not need – federal intervention,” he said, noting that the city has balanced free expression with efforts to address violence and property damage.
Smaller confrontations have taken place since June. On Labor Day, some protesters brought a mock guillotine, which the Department of Homeland Security condemned as “unhinged behavior.” Wilson said he expects protests to remain centered around the ICE facility.
Residents in the neighboring apartment complex have voiced frustration. One tenant sued, claiming that loud sounds and chemical agents caused health issues, though a judge sided with the city. Another resident, Rick Stype, said he sometimes stands outside with his neighbors because they fear harassment. “I just want them to leave us alone,” he said. “I want them to be gone.”
The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science, which shared a boundary with the ICE property, relocated earlier this summer. The school cited concerns over student safety due to gas exposure and projectiles used during confrontations. The move also hurt nearby businesses. Chris Johnson, who owns a coffee shop that depended on school families, said the departure was a blow to the community. “I think people are very, very opinionated on either side of it,” he said. “It just creates a divide, which is unfortunate.”
