Portland, OR – On May 5, the immigrant rights organization Portland Contra Las Deportaciones (PDXCD) held a protest in front of the Portland Hearings Office to demand the city reject an appeal of a land use violation filed against the Portland ICE facility in September 2025.

The land use violation was issued to the building for holding detainees past a 12-hour limit and boarding up the windows. Despite almost a year passing since the violation was issued, the city has yet to penalize the landlord of the facility, Stuart Lindquist. The city allowed a five-month administrative review of the decision, and then when Lindquist filed an appeal of the violation in March 2026, allowed for the hearing to be pushed back and rescheduled multiple times to May 5.

Protesters met outside the office to speak with the media and hold a rally. Almost immediately, they were disrupted by right-wing agitator Thomas Allen, known for harassing and assaulting immigrant rights protesters. He began circling the protesters and yelling “God bless ICE” over them so they were unable to do interviews.

Protesters formed a barrier and kept Allen away from the rest of the group. But he began to assault activists, hitting and destroying their signs they were holding between themselves and Allen.

Allen then assaulted one of the protesters, Samatha Ibarra. In self-defense, she used pepper spray.

Allen swiftly called Portland Police and claimed he was attacked and being “swarmed” by protesters, a complete fabrication. The police showed up and proceeded to wait until the media left, and then arrested Ibarra, charging her with multiple misdemeanors.

Immigrant rights protesters filed numerous police reports against Allen for attacking people with pepper spray over the last year. At some protests he has sprayed over ten people, including elderly protesters, completely unprovoked. Activists either never hear back, or are told the case would likely not work out in their favor.

After Ibarra’s arrest, PDXCD immediately went to Multnomah County Corrections, where Ibarra was being held, to hold a protest outside demanding her release. She was released a few hours later and participated in a press conference the same day to demand the charges are dropped.

As all of this was occurring, the hearing for the appeal of the land use violation began. Thomas Rask, attorney for ICE landlord Stuart Lindquist, called one witness to testify in support of the ICE facility. The witness was Katie Daviscourt, another known right-wing agitator who has attended round tables with Donald Trump to spread lies about “Antifa” and who regularly goes to the Portland ICE facility to provoke protesters.

Daviscourt testified it was necessary for ICE to board up their windows due to the “violent” protests at the ICE Facility, painting a picture of ICE agents under siege.

In reality, federal agents regularly attack protesters at the facility, going so far as to break the bones of multiple unarmed protesters simply holding signs.

The hearing was supposed to end that same day, but due to delays on behalf of Lindquist’s lawyer the hearing did not conclude until May 7.

On May 10, the hearings office put out a notice that the final decision on the case would be made on June 5. At this point it has been several months since the violation was issued. Despite claims of impartiality, City Administrator Raymond Lee was caught in a leaked video stating the city was “committed to keeping the facility open as it provides “essential services.”

Activists are angry at the willingness of the city to act quickly to repress the voices of immigrant rights activists, while stalling on action on ICE.

“Again and again, we see the city say it stands on the side of immigrants, and yet it only ever uses its powers to silence protesters,” said activist Cami Saunders. “Not only are they misleading the public, but they are trying to suppress the voices of those who call on them to do more.”

In another example of this pattern, Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez added three more charges to Ibarra’s case after her arrest, and Allen posted on X stating the DA personally called him to let him know about the extra charges.

PDXCD remains committed to fighting for the charges to be dropped and also to ensure that the Portland ICE facility is shut down entirely.

Samantha Ibarra also stated she will fight the charges and plans to take the fight to court if needed.

“I’m not planning on taking any plea deals because I defended myself from a local terrorist. If and when it goes to trial it will expose the agitators for who they are,” said Ibarra.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #PDXCD

Portland, OR – On May 1, protesters gathered downtown for a midday May Day rally held by a coalition of 80-plus unions and non-profit type organizations. This included a march downtown with stops at the Mexican Consulate and an office building that houses the offices of a U.S. senator.

Portland Contra de las Deportaciones (PDXCD) and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) attended this rally, although they were not permitted to endorse due to their demand that the city of Portland “Revoke the Permit” for the Portland ICE facility. PDXCD has been vocal in criticizing the city council and mayor for their lack of action on ICE and thus faced pushback in the movement by organizations aligned with the politicians.

Later, on the evening of May 1, there was a second protest organized by FRSO and PDXCD starting at Elizabeth Caruthers Park near the ICE facility in Portland. The protest was to honor the May Day martyrs who died for workers’ rights and demand an end to the deportations. The protest was attended by approximately 300 people at the park with others joining later at the facility. There were speeches by union members and activists alike. An organizer with PDXCD and ILWU Local 5 member stated, “For as long as our country has existed, the working people have fought back, immigrants have fought back!”

The protest marched to ICE and protesters went into the driveway of the ICE facility. This driveway has frequently become a flashpoint in the past year at Portland ICE protests, with federal agents often setting off teargas and other less than lethal munitions when protesters enter the driveway, which is ungated and next to a frequently used sidewalk in a residential neighborhood.

After legal action and the shootings of U.S. citizens by federal agents in January, there has been much less chemical agent used at the facility. The last reported teargas use appears to be at a PDXCD protest in early February.

Later that night, at approximately 8:30 p.m., state police and Portland police stormed the driveway of the ICE facility occupied by chanting protesters. Three targeted arrests happened at that time. Oregon State Police and Portland police pushed protesters out of the driveway with batons and pepper spray. Arrests included Cole Dunahugh and Dr. Catherine Esperanza, who were then transported to Multnomah County jail.

After a call-in campaign and a picketing at the jail, Cole was released very early Saturday morning, May 2. A press conference was held on Saturday afternoon to continue to demand the release of Dr. Catherine Esperanza. The call-in campaign and picketing at the jail continued. After this pressure, Dr. Esperanza was released Saturday night even though callers had repeatedly been told she would not be let out till Monday morning.

The Oregon State Patrol and Portland Police Bureau’s aggressive action to guard the driveway raises questions about adherence to sanctuary laws. Oregon has labeled itself a sanctuary state and Portland is labeled a sanctuary city. The spirit of the sanctuary law is broken when state and city police actively participate in guarding the driveway of the immigration facility with detention cells used to hold immigrants and some U.S. citizens. Many of these detainments have included unnecessary violence, including violence with firearms.

Oregon has been a sanctuary state since 1987. The city of Portland codified their sanctuary status in October of 2025. In its May 2 press release, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) stated “PPB does not engage in immigration enforcement as outlined in PPB Directive 810.10, but is still responsible for maintaining public safety and enforcing state laws.”

If Oregon residents want to report that sanctuary law is being broken, they can call the Sanctuary Promise Hotline at 1-844-924-7829.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #Labor #MayDay #PDXCD

Portland, OR – The Portland immigrant rights organization, Portland Contra las Deportaciones (PDXCD), celebrated its first year as an organization in February. To commemorate, a fundraiser was organized. Community members gathered at Portland's oldest food cart pod, Midtown Beer Garden, on Saturday, April 11.

“The business that we engaged had ties to immigrant communities, and the host who emceed for us was a Latina drag queen who was excited to use her platform to support her community. Even the people who attended were there because they support what we’re doing. Events like this are how we meet people where they are. They’re how we call folks to action without making it seem like work. It’s how we fight back without making people feel afraid that they have to fight,” said lead organizer Taylor Gross.

In the middle of the food carts, there were lines of tables, with a stage at the front where the emcee Quesa de Mondays and DJs performed, and a presentation with pictures and information about the organization played in a loop.

The fundraiser was a silent auction event where objects such as a handwoven blanket donated by El Ranchero Supply Co. were featured, as were experiences such as tickets for two to a show at Milagro Theater, a Latino arts and culture center of the Pacific Northwest since 1985.

“The fundraiser was a great success. We can continue our work in PDXCD, including our barrio walks and our 'Revoke the ICE Permit' campaign,” stated Blaire Gleenwood

During the event, there was an information table where attendees were able to learn more about the organization, as well as the opportunity to sign the petition and learn more about the current campaign to shut down the Portland ICE facility on Macadam Avenue. On the side there was a merch table where people bought t-shirts and stickers.

The event was unusual compared to the other events the organization organizes, such as marches, rallies and city council meeting disruptions; however, the message and demand from the organization stayed the same: Fighting for the Portland City Council and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson to revoke the ICE facility permit. The event allowed more people to learn about the organization and take up the demand.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #PDXCD

Portland, OR – On April 4, angry protesters marched to Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s house, demanding he revoke the conditional land use permit for the ICE detention facility. The protest, organized by Portland Contra las Deportaciones (PDXCD), began at Wilshire Park and drew a crowd of over 50 in front of the mayor’s home.

The city of Portland issued a land use violation of the permit to the facility on Macadam Avenue in September 2025, after public pressure as the city faced threats of the deployment of the National Guard. Since then, Wilson has allowed landowner Stuart Lindquist to stall the process and appeal the violation to delay any consequences.

In March, the ICE facility landowner, Lindquist, rescinded his appeal to the city’s upholding of the land use violation, meaning Portland officials can begin enforcing the fine at any time. Protesters condemn the lack of enforcement by their city leaders.

During this time, Portland has faced increased immigration enforcement with violent detentions peaking in the fall of 2025. In January 2026, two immigrants were shot by ICE in Portland, and many others faced unlawful and brutal kidnappings.

Andrew Nourie with Freedom Road Socialist Organization told the crowd, “For the last year, Portland has been under attack by the federal government. The people have demanded action from our mayor and the city government, and in response we’ve received silence and a clear commitment to business as usual.”

PDXCD has sent over 1000 emails to the mayor requesting he take action and heard nothing from him for months. After protesters marched to his home in early February, his team reached out to the organization to coordinate a meeting.

Isabella Shepherd, one of the founding members of the campaign to Revoke the ICE Permit, said at the rally: “He insisted on bringing 15 other people [to the meeting] from other groups to argue with the four of us he allowed us to bring, so he wouldn’t have to say any of his own vile opinions out loud himself.”

Members of the campaign say the meeting made it clear the mayor is committed to keeping the ICE facility open, which is why they’ve returned to protest at his house.

The crowd chanted, “Keith Wilson, do your job!” as they occupied the street in front of his home for over an hour. Cars driving by honked their support, and a small crowd of supportive neighbors and passersby formed on a nearby street.

Activists dumped spent munitions ICE used on protesters during this last year on the front porch of the mayor’s house, yelling “No justice, no peace!” saying there will not be peace at home for Wilson while immigrants are terrorized by ICE in their homes.

Sage Joyce with PDXCD said the group brought the canisters because “Keith Wilson should not have freedom from chemical munitions he allows to be used against Portlanders who dare to stand up to ICE!”

Organizers said they are determined to keep up pressure on the city of Portland to move forward in the land use violation process for the ICE facility.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #ICE #PDXCD #KeithWilson #Featured

Portland, OR – On February 18, immigrant rights organization Portland Contra Las Deportaciones (PDXCD) held a rally at city hall to demand city council take immediate action to revoke the permit for the Portland ICE facility. The event turned into a violent suppression of protest by the Portland Police Bureau, with multiple arrests.

The night began with high tensions as local right-wingers antagonized protesters at the rally by yelling “I love ICE” in megaphones and the unprovoked pepper spraying of five activists. At the same time, city hall security came out and told Cole Dunahugh, a regular protester at city hall, that he was “trespassed” from the building and not allowed to enter. When documentation was requested, it was not provided. The right-wingers who assaulted protesters were allowed to enter city hall.

Activists were not deterred, continued chanting and refused to allow the reactionaries to silence their message.

After the rally, protesters entered the chambers and provided compelling testimony demanding the council take action to shut down the ICE facility and called out the councilors’ hypocrisy.

“The fact that some of you have the audacity to ride the wave of ‘Abolish ICE’ while you unironically have argued and defended keeping the Macadam ICE facility open for the sake of immigrants might be the worst of your offenses,” said Elijah Thahir, referencing many of the councilors’ claims that the facility must be kept open to “serve” immigrants.

The city administrator was asked to give an update on the ICE facility, which has been issued a violation for holding detainees past a 12-hour limit. The enforcement process was stalled for five months while the city granted the landlord multiple extensions on an appeal. Only recently did the city deny the landlord’s appeal, after PDXCD protested at the mayor’s house and at the office of permitting and development.

As the city administrator gave excuses for the inaction of the city, those in the chambers chanted, “Revoke the permit.”

Susan Anglada-Bartley, the original creator of the petition to revoke the permit, walked up to the desks of the councilors with a printout of all 19,000 signatures on a petition to revoke the permit. She was placed in a chokehold by security and physically assaulted.

At this point, City Council President Jamie Dunphy immediately shut down the meeting, ordered security to remove protesters, and all the councilors left the room to reconvene the meeting online.

Protesters continued to stay in the chambers, chanting for around 30 minutes. At this point around 30 police officers entered city hall and arrested Anglada-Bartley. The rest of the protesters linked arms and refused to move, and were violently pushed down a flight of stairs out of city hall by the police. Madison Delsanter and Henry Roloff were arrested for “trespassing,” despite being confined in a space they could not leave by police.

On the other side of the building, Cole Dunahugh was also arrested for “trespassing” despite the fact he was never allowed to enter the building.

Protesters immediately moved the protest from city hall to the nearby jail and held a rally to demand the release of the four detained activists. Three of the activists were released the same night, and one the next day. All face charges.

Rather than apologize for their use of force to suppress the free speech of Portlanders, city council members and the Portland Police Bureau doubled down the next day.

Councilor Loretta Smith posted on her Facebook calling the protest a “mini insurrection” and told press she is drafting legislation to allow councilors to open carry in meetings with the public, implying she would shoot immigrant rights protesters.

The Portland police held a press conference to justify their use of force where Police Chief Bob Day stated he sent “nearly every available officer” working in the city at the time to attack the protesters. He attempted to blame protesters for this egregious attempt to silence First Amendment rights by stating this was a “drain on the city's resources.”

“Why is Bob Day blaming his irresponsible act of over-policing and violence on protesters?” questioned Kacey DeSantis, “It was completely unnecessary for him to send any police officers to prevent the city council from hearing from its constituents. He should be ashamed.”

PDXCD will hold a press conference and protest on February 20, before the arraignments of Dunahugh, Anglada Bartley and Madison Delsanter. They demand that all the charges are dropped, that the city of Portland stop criminalizing free speech, and take action to shut down the ICE facility.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #PDXCD #PoliceBrutality #Featured

Portland, OR – Over 100 protesters rallied in front of Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s home on Saturday February 7, to demand he take immediate action to shut down the Portland ICE Facility. The protest was called by the immigrant rights organization, Portland Contra Las Deportaciones (PDXCD).

“Federal agents are terrorizing Portland. Whether it is immigrants living under the threat of deportation by ICE or residents of the South Waterfront neighborhood subject to constant chemical warfare from DHS attacks, there are so many who don’t feel safe in their own homes. That is why we protest at the mayor’s house today, to show him how urgent this situation is,” said protester Cami Saunders.

The action began at a nearby park with speeches calling out Mayor Wilson’s performative statements and lack of action.

The weekend prior, DHS gassed a march of thousands of people organized by labor groups. In response, the mayor put out a statement telling ICE to “leave” and “resign.”

Yet, despite these words, he has put forth no legislation or orders to make this happen. In fact, a few days after this statement, he put out an editorial telling mayors to “stay the course” and stated, “Know that public frustration with the limitations of our offices will continue to invite provocateurs and opportunists. They’ll insist that local police can impede or arrest federal officers at will, or that wielding civil land use laws and implementing fines can effectively remove ICE from our communities.”

The protest marched to the mayor’s house and held the street in front of his home for over an hour with chants of “Keith Wilson shame on you! Immigrants are people too,” “Revoke the permit” and “Do your job!”

A land use violation was issued in September 2025 against the Portland ICE facility for holding detainees past a 12-hour limit, and the city has yet to take any action to enforce this violation, much less revoke the permit, despite it being fully within their power to do so.

On February 5, PDXCD members went to Portland Permitting and Development Offices and interrupted a meeting with department director Eric Kutch to demand to know what he will be doing to shut down the Portland ICE Facility. They were kicked out of the building by police.

This follows a pattern of activists being shut down and refused conversation.

PDXCD has sent over 1000 emails to the mayor requesting action, and prior to this past week heard nothing back. It was only after the protest at his house was announced that his staff reached out to set up a meeting. PDXCD is working on setting up this meeting where they will bring forth their demand to shut down the ICE Facility.

After the protest at the mayor’s house many protesters stated they felt ready to continue to ramp up the pressure on the mayor and city in general to shut down the facility.

#ImmigrantRights #PDXCD #PortlandOR #OR

Portland, OR – On February 1, over 1000 Portlanders protested outside of Portland City Hall to stand against the killing of Alex Pretti, Renee Good and all those murdered by ICE, and to demand city government revoke the permit for the Portland ICE facility. The protest, organized by Portland Contra Las Deportaciones marched two miles from city hall to the Portland ICE facility.

Speaker Holly Brown called out Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and city councilors, saying months of cries to shut down the facility have been met with “not only inaction, but deliberate stalling, condescension, and lies.”

Protesters chanted “Do your jobs!” targeting Wilson and other city officials. Another rally speaker, Beatriz Ibarra, noted Custom Border Patrol agents shot two Portland residents just one day after Renee Good was murdered in Minneapolis. “Our mayor and city council send us nothing more than thoughts and prayers, while ICE agents rampage our streets,” Ibarra said.

Once at the ICE facility, furious protesters stormed the driveway, occupying the street and gated entrance. They began banging on the walls, shaking the gate, yelling “We aren’t scared of you!” as agents began shooting projectiles from the roof into the crowd.

ICE’s initial violent attempts at crowd control did not deter protesters. When federal officers opened the gates, they launched tear gas canisters and flash bangs into the crowd. One protester described the scene, saying “it was like a war zone.”

Just the day before, federal agents gassed a crowd of thousands, including families and union leaders, sparking public outrage. The increasing use of chemical weapons in the heart of Southwest Portland increases the pressure on city officials to take action to shut down the facility.

Tear gas used against protesters on Sunday spread throughout SW Portland, even crossing the Willamette River impacting neighborhoods on the East side. Despite the volume of gas being deployed, a large crowd stood their ground outside the ICE facility until after midnight.

In response to the chemical warfare used against protesters, Mayor Keith Wilson put out a statement telling ICE agents to resign and stating he will begin implementing fees on the facility. Protesters cried out that this is not enough and will not solve the problem. They remain undeterred in their demand to close down the facility.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #ICE #KillerICE #AlexPretti #PDXCD #Feature

Portland, OR – On January 24, immigrant rights organization Portland Contra Las Deportaciones held an emergency rally to protest the murder of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

Despite only a few hours’ notice, over 500 participants joined the rally, beginning at Elizabeth Caruthers Park and marching to the Portland ICE facility.

Speeches demanded justice for Alex Pretti and Renee Good, also murdered by ICE. They also demanded the city of Portland take immediate action to revoke the permit for the Portland ICE facility.

When at the Portland ICE facility, protesters occupied the driveway, banging on the doors and boarded-up windows. An industrial trashcan and other objects were pushed against the gate to the building. Protesters chanted, “You are murderers!” at the agents behind the gate.

In response, federal agents deployed chemical weapons on the protesters, such as HC gas, known for its serious health impacts.

The ICE facility is in a residential neighborhood, with an affordable housing complex directly across the street, that has been subject to chemicals like these for months, another reason why PDXCD demands the ICE facility is shut down.

Despite the chemical attacks, protesters maintained the driveway and did not back down. More and more people continued to show up as the night went on.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #ICE #KillerICE #AlexPretti #ReneeGood #PDXCD