Thousands tear-gassed at South Portland ICE protest, councilor and mayor demand agency leave
Jan 29, 2026·Location: South Portland, ME

Thousands of protesters, including union members and families with children, marched to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in South Portland on Saturday to oppose immigration enforcement. Federal agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls, rubber bullets, and flash-bang grenades against the crowd, including children, after some protesters crossed onto the building's property. Portland City Councilor Mitch Green was tear-gassed and called for the abolition of ICE and DHS and prosecution of federal agents. Protester Malena Marvin, also tear-gassed, stated "This is like the big moral question of our time. Are we gonna let secret police kill people right in front of us?" and credited organized labor for the large turnout. Former OregonLive reporter Erin Hoover Barnett described the scene as terrifying, witnessing parents frantically tending to children in strollers and people on motorized carts struggling to escape the gas. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson characterized the demonstration as peaceful and called for ICE to leave the city, saying federal agents had "lost all legitimacy" through their use of violence.
Sources
- Mayor of Portland, Oregon, demands ICE leave the city after federal agents gas protesters
Associated Press·Feb 1, 2026·archived copy
- Anti-ICE protest draws massive crowd at South Portland facility, feds deploy tear gas
spokesman.com·Jan 31, 2026·archived copy
- The Oregonian
- Thousands of labor union members march to South Portland ICE facility
KATU·Feb 1, 2026·archived copy
- Chemical munitions used against protesters outside of Portland’s ICE facility
opb.org·Feb 10, 2026·archived copy
- The Oregonian
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