Appeals court panel ends temporary ban on tear gas near Portland ICE building
The court said officers may use nonlethal crowd-control munitions to restore order as protesters and nearby tenants failed to show a protected right.
- On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated lower court orders restricting federal officers' use of tear gas and nonlethal munitions at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland.
- Circuit Judge Kenneth Kiyul Lee wrote for the majority that agents need not wait until they face "an imminent threat of physical harm" to deploy nonlethal force, citing evidence officers were barricaded and targeted with lasers.
- The appellate court rejected claims that federal agents violated First Amendment rights or constitutional liberty, describing protesters and REACH Community Development residents as "unfortunate collateral casualties" of federal crowd control efforts.
- Dissenting in part, Circuit Judge Ana de Alba argued the court should have maintained prohibitions against firing munitions at heads or torsos, noting tenants met the standard of "shocking the conscience."
- Although the preliminary injunctions ended, the underlying lawsuits remain active, and attorneys for REACH Community Development expressed disappointment, stating the ruling leaves residents without protection from chemical munitions deployed by federal agents.
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9 Articles
Appeals court panel ends temporary ban on tear gas near Portland ICE building
A panel of judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit spiked a temporary ban on chemical weapons use outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland.The parallel decisions, released Tuesday, deal a legal blow to protesters and residents of an apartment complex near the facility. They separately sought to limit federal law enforcement from using tear gas, pepper balls and other chemicals as a means of crow…
Ninth Circuit OVERTURNS Obama Judge’s Restrictions on ICE Agents Using Tear Gas Against Violent Portland Agitators — Says Federal Courts Cannot Handcuff Law Enforcement
The Trump administration scored a major legal victory Tuesday after a divided federal appeals court struck down sweeping restrictions imposed by an…
Appeals Court Vacates Judicial Restrictions on DHS Use of Force Against Protest Crowds
Federal agents deploy tear gas and flash bangs at protesters in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Ore., on Jan. 31, 2026. (Allison Barr/The Oregonian via AP)
No constitutional right protects nearby residents from ICE tear gas at Portland protests, court says
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that residents and businesses in Portland, Oregon, had no constitutional right to avoid exposure to chemical irritants such as tear gas deployed by federal officers protecting ICE's facility in the city.
Significant Win for ICE as Appeals Court Upholds Enforcement Methods
A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of ICE, lifting restrictions on their use of crowd-control measures during protests. This decision supports the Trump administration’s immigration policies amidst ongoing protests at the Portland facility.
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