A federal judge in Oregon said he would continue to block federal law enforcement from using tear gas and other chemical crowd control devices on protesters outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland.

“In a well-functioning constitutional democratic republic, free speech, courageous newsgathering, and nonviolent protest are all permitted, respected, and even celebrated. In an authoritarian regime, that is not the case,” U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon wrote. “Indeed, a democracy is only as strong as its tolerance for dissent.”

Simon also ordered the attorneys representing the federal government and protesters to confer on officer identification “on the uniforms, vests, and/or helmets of the officers and agents deployed at the Portland ICE Building so that they can be identified at a reasonable distance and without unreasonably interfering with the legitimate law enforcement needs of these personnel.”

The judge’s ruling also grants preliminary class certification, meaning the decision applies to all nonviolent protesters and journalists outside the Portland ICE building.

The decision is likely to be appealed by the Justice Department. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Monday.

The decision comes after a three-day hearing in Portland last week, where protesters testified about instances where they were hit with crowd control munitions while nonviolently protesting or engaged in what they described as passive resistance.

On Friday, another federal judge in Oregon issued a separate injunction in a different case involving tenants in an apartment complex near the ICE building. That order similarly limits officers’ use of chemical munitions, except in cases where officers fear for their lives.

Some of the more shocking testimony in the case before Judge Simon came from depositions of the federal officers sent to protect the Portland ICE building. In the sworn interviews played in court, Department of Homeland Security officers demonstrated a lack of understanding about the First Amendment, passive resistance, crowd control tactics and their own agency’s use of force policies.

The Portland ICE building has served as a gathering place for those opposing a variety of President Donald Trump’s policy initiatives, namely his aggressive approach to immigration enforcement.

The ACLU of Oregon, which is representing the protesters, initially filed its case late last year, but it took on a new urgency after several protests in January when federal officers at the Portland ICE building used pepper balls, tear gas and other crowd control weapons during demonstrations.

On Feb. 3, Simon temporarily limited DHS officers from using chemical munitions unless there was an imminent threat of physical harm.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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