Judge limits crowd control devices at Portland ICE building, says federal officers must identify themselves

Source: OPB/NPR

March 9, 2026 8:23 p.m. Updated: March 9, 2026 8:41 p.m.


A federal judge in Oregon ruled Monday that he would continue to strictly limit federal law enforcement’s use of tear gas and other crowd control weapons on protesters outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland.

Department of Homeland Security officers at the ICE building had an unwritten policy to use excessive force on nonviolent protesters, in part to chill their First Amendment rights, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon found.

Simon also concluded that federal officers at the ICE facility violated DHS use of force policies, using crowd control devices like pepper balls and tear gas “on nonviolent protesters, including those who were engaged in passive resistance.”

The preliminary injunction still allows federal officers to use crowd control devices so long as there’s a specific and imminent threat of physical harm to officers or another person.

Read more: https://www.opb.org/article/2026/03/09/federal-judge-limits-crowd-control-devices-portland-ice-building/