Portland disrupts council meeting to call for revocation of ICE permit
Portland, OR – A January 21 protest at Portland City Hall to demand the revocation of the permit for the Portland ICE facility erupted as protesters shut down the city council meeting and were violently ejected from the building by Portland police.
Portland Contra Las Deportaciones called for the event after the Minneapolis murder of Renee Good and the Portland shooting by Border Patrol of Nino-Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras. Given the escalation in violence by ICE, the group urged city council and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson to take immediate action to shut down the ICE facility.
After a rally outside city hall with 60 in attendance, the group entered city hall for public comment. Members spoke to the urgency of the moment. A land use violation notice was issued to the Portland ICE facility in September 2025, and the city has yet to collect fines, or begin the revocation process.
“Portland City Council, this legislative body, needs to be treating this like the emergency situation it is.” said organizer Kacey Desantis in a public comment, “We have killer ICE in our streets and members of Portland’s own police force that agree with their actions. This is a public safety emergency.”
Mayor Keith Wilson put out a statement regarding the permit while the protest was underway stating, “Regarding the notice of violation issued to the ICE facility, we must follow the process. We cannot allow hasty action to prevent us from taking meaningful action.”
Given the slow pace at which the city is handling the process, some public commenters wonder if the mayor has his priorities straight.
“Mayor Wilson, it must be really hard to properly respond to this emergency situation when you are also busy being the CEO of a company. Your position aligns more with ICE landlord Stuart Lindquist than working Portlanders affected by your inaction. Mayor, do your job and protect the safety of all Portlanders by revoking the ICE permit now,” stated Desantis.
After public comment, the city council meeting began, and members of the audience began disrupting the meeting, demanding the council take immediate action to shut down the ICE facility, and letting them know there would be no business as usual while ICE terrorizes Portland.
The council left the room for a recess and activists refused to leave the chambers, chanting slogans such as “City council, do your job! Keith Wilson, do your job!”
The council meeting resumed, with all the councilors showing up on a screen, as they left the chambers to join the meeting virtually from their offices, behind locked doors.
The crowd decided to bring the protest to their offices and left the chambers to march to each of the offices in city hall.
Protesters stood outside their offices chanting “Face the people!” and knocking on the doors. Several councilors came out of their offices to take pictures of the protesters from behind glass doors and then rejoined the virtual meeting, refusing to speak with protesters.
After 30 minutes of occupying city hall, a group of Portland police officers approached the protest and informed the group that if they did not leave they would be arrested.
Activists linked arms and refused to move. Officers came behind them and violently pushed the group out of city hall, with activists resisting the entire way. The group was pushed backwards on a flight of stairs by police, and only through holding on to each other avoided serious injury. Protesters still refused to fully leave city hall and police then pepper-sprayed the group.
When outside, the group resolved to not let this stop them and to continue to come back and demand action from Portland officials to revoke the ICE permit.