Oregon union members, families tear gassed during march

A peaceful afternoon march of union members and families in Portland was met with violent response from federal agents

PORTLAND, OR (February 2, 2026) — Calling for an end to ICE operations in Portland, Oregon, and nationwide, thousands of union members and community allies rallied at Elizabeth Caruthers Park on Saturday afternoon, before marching towards the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on South Macadam Avenue. Workers embarked on a peaceful march towards the facility, where protestors were met with force from federal agents, who deployed tear gas on the crowd, including elderly folks, children, and pets. Local news reports that tear gas was sprayed into the crowd without warning.

“We need to take this as a moment to continue to figure out how we take action in a way that can keep us safe and how we continue to raise our voices against this federal government who is deciding to tear gas community members who are trying to have a voice and peacefully protest,” said Melissa Unger, Executive Director of SEIU Local 503, who was at the protest. “We’re safe, and we’re ready to continue to raise our voices together with unions from across our state and across our country to take action.”

Union members and allies gathering at Elizabeth Caruthers Park in Portland on January 31. Photo: Oregon Nurses Association

The ACLU of Oregon is currently suing the Department of Homeland Security for pervasive use of force against demonstrators at the ICE facility, violating protestor’s first amendment rights.

Local officials have condemned federal agents’ actions on Saturday.

“To those who continue to work for ICE: Resign. To those who control this facility: Leave. Through your use of violence and the trampling of the Constitution, you have lost all legitimacy and replaced it with shame. To those who continue to make these sickening decisions, go home, look in a mirror, and ask yourselves why you have gassed children,” said Portland Mayor Keith Wilson in a statement.

From the Oregon AFL-CIO:

“This inspirational showing marked a key moment in the fight to protect our communities, coworkers, and families, unfortunately federal agents decided to respond with violence by releasing tear gas on union members, families, children, and pets in the middle of the day during a peaceful march.”

“This is an attack on working people, and an attack on Oregon’s labor movement,” Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor said. “Deploying tear gas when union members, families, children, and pets came together to protest peacefully against ICE’s terrorization of immigrants and our communities in Oregon and across the country is an unacceptable escalation from federal agents. This is not okay.”

More footage of the march and federal agents’ violent response is available on the Oregon AFL-CIO website.