Tear gas

Clashes between protesters and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Salem, Oregon, over the weekend reflect a sharp escalation in federal immigration enforcement statewide. Federal agents tear gassed demonstrators Saturday after about 30 people tried to block ICE vehicles in a shopping mall parking lot, a day after video showed an agent pepper-spraying a protester who jumped on an ICE SUV's hood at a gas station. ICE said officers were surrounded and their vehicles struck with bats and rocks; advocates and witnesses accuse agents of escalating tensions and exposing bystanders, including children, to chemical munitions.

Local immigrant support groups reported a surge in enforcement-related assistance requests, and statewide verified arrests more than doubled recent weekly averages. Latino-owned businesses reported steep sales drops as residents stayed home. Oregon's congressional delegation visited a Portland ICE facility, learning detainees are now being routed directly to a Tacoma detention center, raising due process concerns. Gov. Tina Kotek and state lawmakers condemned the enforcement escalation and pledged increased coordination.

An investigation has been launched after federal immigration agents deployed tear gas in Salem, Oregon, on Saturday after a crowd of roughly 30 people surrounded ICE vehicles outside a strip mall. Salem police responded to the scene and received multiple 911 calls from people reporting apparent tear gas exposure. One witness described agents breaking a car window and spraying its occupant directly. A report on the incident is being referred to the Oregon Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for independent review.

Rep. Andrea Salinas condemned the operation, saying ICE used pepper spray, pepper balls, and smoke canisters near elderly people and children, then drove recklessly on Highway 99E, prompting a partial road closure. The incident comes amid a Department of Homeland Security-confirmed nationwide ICE surge targeting sanctuary cities, which Oregon's state law restricts local police from assisting. Advocacy group Oregon for All reports more than 40 people detained by ICE statewide this week, amid growing scrutiny of enforcement tactics in sanctuary jurisdictions.

ICE officers conducting targeted enforcement operations in Salem, Oregon, were confronted by a crowd near a parking lot on Lancaster Drive over the weekend. Bystander video showed demonstrators surrounding agency vehicles, with one person striking an SUV's side mirror with a baseball bat and others shouting at officers to leave. Agents reportedly deployed crowd control munitions, including tear gas and pepper balls, after the confrontation escalated. One video appeared to show an ICE vehicle pushing past a car blocking its path.

Reports identified some participants as affiliated with Antifa, which the Trump administration designated a domestic terrorist organization earlier in 2025. Federal sources said local and state law enforcement did not intervene to help disperse the crowd. The incident follows a reported increase in ICE operations in Oregon, a sanctuary state, and similar confrontations with activists in the Salem and Portland areas in recent days. The episode underscores escalating tensions around immigration enforcement amid the administration's broader push to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents used tear gas and other chemical munitions against a group of about 30 protesters in Northeast Salem, Oregon, on Saturday morning after the crowd surrounded federal vehicles and blocked agents from leaving the area, according to the Salem Police Department. Officers were dispatched to the scene near Lancaster Drive and Sunnyview Road around 9:30 a.m.; by the time they arrived, ICE agents had deployed chemical munitions, freed their vehicles, and left. Salem police and fire personnel treated people at the scene for tear gas exposure and are investigating the incident, with findings to be forwarded to the Oregon Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, a Democrat, condemned the agents' actions, alleging they used pepper spray, pepper balls, and smoke canisters against elderly bystanders and children, harassed U.S. citizens, and drove recklessly, briefly shutting down a nearby highway. The incident follows a recent surge in federal immigration enforcement activity across Oregon. DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman, her challenger in the mayoral race, appeared separately at a South L.A. candidate forum, agreeing that the city's homelessness response needs an overhaul but diverging sharply on housing policy. Both candidates said the city should exit the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which has faced repeated audits over poor accounting despite spending nearly $830 million last fiscal year, and back a new city-run agency, mirroring a move the county already made. Both also support expanding unarmed crisis-response teams for non-emergency calls currently handled by police.

The candidates split on housing density and renter protections. Raman accused Bass of blocking denser development in wealthier neighborhoods, pushing new construction into poorer districts, and criticized Bass's temporary loosening of short-term rental rules ahead of the 2028 Olympics, warning it could displace long-term tenants. Bass defended development restrictions as necessary to prevent gentrification of Black and Latino communities. The two also differed on LAPD's handling of ICE-related protests and enforcement of a state law on federal agents masking during operations.

Former CBP sector chief Greg Bovino, who led aggressive federal immigration operations in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and Minneapolis last year, defended the Twin Cities operation at a New York Young Republicans event in Manhattan, claiming CBP had used a "light touch" that allowed "lawlessness" to fester. Minneapolis' Operation Metro Surge ended after ICE officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Good and CBP officers killed Alex Pretti. Bovino now says the Minneapolis operation was "an ICE mission, not Border Patrol," despite DHS and Minnesota's Attorney General previously identifying him as commanding operations there.

Bovino was removed from Minneapolis after backlash, including from Sen. Rand Paul, over his refusal to investigate the shootings. He has continued espousing far-right rhetoric, including calls for "remigration" and deportation of "100 million" people, and has courted ties to European far-right parties. His tactics — including federalizing the California National Guard and using tear gas despite court restrictions — drew Supreme Court scrutiny and widespread protest, though his high-profile urban operations have since ended.