A three-day hearing playing out in federal court in Portland revealed new information about the Department of Homeland Security’s response to protests outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

Protesters have claimed they were targeted by officers while protesting nonviolently, in violation of their Constitutional rights. In court, Justice Department attorneys have pushed back on those claims, questioning whether protesters could see what officers were responding to when they used force, such as tear gas and other crowd control munitions.

One incident that received significant attention during this week’s hearing took place Jan. 31, when thousands of people attended a rally to push back against the federal government’s aggressive immigration enforcement and deportation policies.

Labor unions that organized the rally say they intended to walk past the ICE building before circling back to a nearby park. During the event, federal officers deployed tear gas and other chemical munitions that hit demonstrators, including children, elderly people and pets.

Videos played in court show Department of Homeland Security officers responding to protesters, including the perspective from one body camera worn by an officer.

Both protesters and a former U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner, Gil Kerlikowske, testified that the way federal officers responded actually made the situation more dangerous for protesters and officers.

“What I saw was they went nuclear,” the former Obama administration official told U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon.

By tossing tear gas canisters and other munitions both in front of and into the crowd, they effectively trapped many protesters between clouds of tear gas, Kerlikowske testified Tuesday.

“If you’re going to use that force then you want them to leave,” he said. But instead the canisters were lobbed “over the heads of the people,” far beyond those immediately on the driveway of the ICE building, trespassing on federal property.

Kerlikowske said the response was indicative of poor training “in an environment they’re not familiar with” and using “tactics far outside the standards and practices” of U.S. law enforcement.

Attorneys with the Justice Department pointed to writings and television appearances Kerlikowske has made in the past that were critical of President Donald Trump.

John Bailey, counsel to the assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, pointed to a previous Border Patrol use of force manual from when Kerlikowske served as commissioner, which noted similar force policies as those under question.

“You’re trying to pin me down,” Kerlikowske said.

The CBP manual was used in the context of protecting the border, he said. Those agents only had firearms and as a result used deadly force at a high rate.

“They don’t do public order policing,” Kerlikowske said. “All of this was designed so agents had something other than a firearm to use,” so they could deter people from illegally entering the country.

Simon also heard testimony from Federal Protective Service officers, who expressed confusion about their own use of force policies and said none had faced discipline or correction action during their time guarding the Portland ICE building.

The Department of Homeland Security has defended its officer’s use of force.

“DHS is authorized to do what is appropriate and necessary in each situation to diffuse violence against our officers in the most appropriate manner possible,” an agency spokesperson told OPB in a statement Monday.

Closing arguments in the hearing got underway Wednesday. If Simon grants a preliminary injunction, it is likely to be appealed.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/03/04/oregon-portland-ice-immigration-tear-gas-protest/