Saturday’s rally and march led by local labor unions against ICE drew thousands of participants. The disproportionate federal response to a peaceful protest has rattled the city. by Taylor Griggs Thousands of local union members a nd supporters gathered in Portland’s South Waterfront Saturday afternoon for an anti-ICE demonstration hosted by Oregon labor leaders. The family-friendly event turned chaotic after federal agents met the peaceful crowd with repeated rounds of tear gas as they marched outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. The disproportionate federal response to the peaceful protest prompted widespread condemnation from Portland leaders, including Mayor Keith Wilson, who called on ICE agents to resign in a strongly-worded statement issued January 31.  “Through your use of violence and the trampling of the Constitution, you have lost all legitimacy and replaced it with shame,” Wilson said. “To those who continue to make these sickening decisions, go home, look in a mirror, and ask yourselves why you have gassed children.”  Protesters emerge out of a tear gas cloud in the aftermath of the first rounds of munitions. taylor griggs The rally began at Elizabeth Caruthers Park, a few blocks north of the ICE facility, around 3 pm. A roster of local union leaders spoke to the growing crowd, emphasizing the importance of solidarity among organized labor and marginalized groups currently being targeted by President Trump’s administration.  “The labor movement's guiding principle is solidarity,” Graham Trainor, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO union federation, said at the rally. “That means that anything that aims to undermine our solidarity or divide our communities is a fucking labor issue.” The labor rally in Portland came in the aftermath of the major, union-led general strike against ICE in Minneapolis on January 23. The following Friday, January 30, people around the country participated in a “national shutdown” to protest the increasingly violent immigration enforcement activity taking place across the US. In Portland, hundreds of high school students walked out of school to take part in the January 30 shutdown, and dozens of local businesses closed for the day or committed to donating a portion of their sales to immigrant rights organizations.  At the labor rally on January 31, speakers called for more union-led actions like the general strike in Minneapolis. Mark Medina, an organizer with the Coalition of Independent Unions, called on those at the rally to “get organized” and “get ready to fight.” “You have the opportunity to change the future and make one that is just, humane, and includes your immigrant brothers and sisters,” Medina said. “Join a union no matter what, if there is none in your industry, organize your own. If you think there is a time to fight, it is now.”  Mark Medina from the Coalition of Independent Unions. taylor griggs The labor rally coalesced with a large group of people on bikes who joined the protest in support of Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on January 24, while observing and recording the agents’ response to protests in the city. Similar rides took place in Minneapolis and hundreds of other cities to honor Pretti, who was a cyclist in Minnesota. Pretti was also a Veterans Affairs (VA) intensive care unit nurse and union member. Many people held signs honoring Pretti and Renee Good, another Minneapolis resident who was killed by federal agents earlier in January.  After hearing from several speakers, the group began to line up for the march. Leaders expected the group to march past the ICE facility before heading back north to Elizabeth Caruthers Park. Before leaving the park, organizers said while they didn’t disparage any protest tactic, they wanted those participating in the march to commit to remaining peaceful. The crowd, which included many children, responded affirmatively.  The Oregon Nurses Association saw a large member turnout at Saturday's rally and march. taylor griggs The march began heading south on South Moody Ave, toward the ICE facility, around 4 pm. Those at the front of the group arrived at the facility about 20 minutes later, and headed back toward the starting location, this time walking north on South Bond Ave. But the march fractured on South Bancroft Street in front of the ICE building, with some protesters choosing to stay put in front of the facility. That group, as well as hundreds more who were stationed near the back of the labor march, were hit with several rounds of tear gas when federal officers deployed the chemicals without warning, at roughly 4:30 pm. The affected group included children and elderly people. Most people were not prepared with gas masks or other protective gear.  Lisa Morrison, 64, attended the rally with her 78-year-old husband, Bud Erland, a retired TriMet driver representing the Amalgamated Transit Union.  “I knew the union organizers were committed to a peaceful, family-friendly march so we did not expect to be gassed and we were in no way prepared to shield ourselves,” Morrison told the Mercury.  Morrison said she and her husband were still marching on South Moody—“in a crowd of peaceful people of all ages, from elders to babies”—when the agents deployed tear gas. Within minutes of hearing the flash bangs and seeing the tear gas cloud form, she and her husband were “overcome with burning eyes, noses, throats, and skin.”  “We were blinded and started coughing and retching,” Morrison said. She said other protesters helped wash her eyes out with water, but she continued to feel the effects of the tear gas throughout the rest of the evening and into the following day.  Blake Goud attended the rally with his wife and two elementary school-aged children.  "We had come out to support the teachers at our school and to stand in solidarity with the families who have been impacted by ICE in our community," Goud told the Mercury.  Goud and his group were also still heading south on South Moody when the tear gas hit. He said the people surrounding his family encouraged them to get the kids out as soon as possible, and they were able to exit relatively quickly.  "Thankfully, none of them had been directly affected by the tear gas, but my son complained of a headache all evening," Goud said. "Our kids were scared and crying, but also angry about what had just happened, and what ICE is doing to other families. We thought this would be a safe experience given it was a daytime march and included nurse, doctors, teachers, etc."  Protesters watch as plumes of tear gas billow up from the ground near the ICE facility. taylor griggs The chemicals eventually forced a large group of people to turn around and attempt to leave the area as quickly as possible. Still, even after the first rounds were deployed, several hundred Portlanders remained in the streets near the facility chanting “ICE out of Portland,” dancing to music, and blowing bubbles, as volunteers cleaned up tear gas canisters and spent flash bang grenades. Others returned with gas masks and helmets after the march concluded. Some agents shot pepper balls from the rooftops at protesters standing outside the facility. Just before 6 pm, federal agents again exited the facility, throwing tear gas and flash bang grenades into a crowd of roughly 300 people. The cloud of gas and smoke held in the air outside of an affordable housing complex adjacent to the facility, hovering two blocks away for several minutes. Portland Police Bureau officers looked on as they blockaded Macadam Avenue with their vehicles during the clash. The force used by federal officers drew widespread attention and backlash from local elected officials and beyond. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield encouraged people with video footage or accounts of federal agents’ unlawful actions to report them to the state Department of Justice.  Portland Councilor Mitch Green, who was present at the event and experienced the effects of the tear gas, posted on social media about the experience, calling on Mayor Wilson to enforce a new Portland code prohibiting the use of tear gas at detention centers like the one ICE operates. Green and Councilor Angelita Morillo sent Wilson a letter last week asking him to speed up the enforcement of a new detention center fee, which went into effect January 2. The new code makes it a violation for agencies like ICE to deploy tear gas beyond their immediate premises.  In his statement Saturday evening, Wilson said the city is “moving swiftly to operationalize” the code change.  “As we prepare to put that law into action, we are also documenting today’s events and preserving evidence,” Wilson said. “The federal government must, and will, be held accountable.” The Mercury's Jeremiah Hayden contributed reporting to this story.   ...read more read less