PORTLAND, Ore. — Hundreds of anti-ICE demonstrators descended on a small corner of south Portland on Sunday afternoon, trading insults with counterprotesters who sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" and carried a large banner of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Sunday’s demonstration marked three months of unrest in Oregon’s largest city. The protests have only intensified in recent days as the Trump administration doubles down on its portrayal of Portland as an urban dystopia controlled by far-left radicals, a narrative denied by many locals and state and city officials.
The counterprotesters, some of whom wore Trump-branded garb, numbered in the dozens. They were flanked by American flags and the image of Kirk standing in front a white cross with one arm raised in a fist.
Across the street, outside an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement center, a phalanx of protesters opposed to the administration’s immigration policies danced and jeered despite a Pacific Northwest downpour.
The two sides yelled obscenities at each other through microphones while federal agents stood watch from the roof of the federal building. They occasionally deployed pepper balls into a mostly peaceful crowd throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
Earlier in the day, several hundred bicyclists in varying states of undress circled the center to shouts of encouragement.
“To be naked is to be as vulnerable as you can be,” said Elise, a Portland resident who asked that her last name not be used due to privacy concerns. “That’s what we’re saying — we’re not afraid.”
The city is awaiting the ruling of an appeals court panel on whether President Donald Trump can send federalized National Guard troops to Portland after a federal judge on Oct. 5 ordered a temporary hold on deployment.
“Our politics are let’s care for each other, and put that as the most important thing,” said Miles Thompson, who was dressed in a banana costume and carried a trumpet. “We need to show our humanity to each other.”
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.
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.
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.
Protesters on Sunday appeared hopeful but wary that the city would, or could, shut down the ICE center or revoke its permit amid threats from Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act. The centuries-old statute gives the president the authority to deploy U.S. military forces domestically for law enforcement purposes.
“Portland really needs them to go much further now, especially with all the violence that has been escalating,” said Brown, of Portland Contra Las Deportaciones, who said she was held in the immigration center on Oct. 4 for five hours.
She said she was released and charged with a misdemeanor for trespassing but said the experience has shaken her.
“There are ways that they can move forward,” Brown said of city officials. “We’re kind of tired of excuses at this point — that’s why we’re out here.”
