In the span of three days, two federal judges in Oregon made separate rulings prohibiting federal agents from deploying chemical munitions and other projectiles near the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement building unless there is an imminent threat.
The judges allowed for preliminary injunctions in two separate lawsuits, filed last year, against the Department of Homeland Security. Both lawsuits claimed federal agents affiliated with the Portland ICE facility used chemical munitions, projectiles and other aggressive tactics in recent months in a manner that harmed the public.
“This means the torture has to stop,” said Jeffrey Dubner, an attorney with the non-profit organization Democracy Forward. The legal group helped file one of the lawsuits on behalf of residents of Gray’s Landing, an apartment complex across the street from the Portland ICE building.
The suit claimed residents who were not engaged in protests suffered significant health complications like respiratory problems, slurred speech, and burning eyes as a result of the chemical deployments.
“The residents of Gray’s Landing in southwest Portland have been exposed to tear gas in their homes over and over again for months,” said Dubner. “The court has now said, that has to stop until the case is over.”
The other federal lawsuit, filed on behalf of several citizens who were either involved in demonstrations or observing federal agents, alleged multiple people were injured by projectiles.
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The suit claimed one elderly woman, Laurie Eckman, 84, was struck with a canister that caused her forehead to bleed. She also had trouble breathing as a result of the chemical irritants.
“It gives me hope that a judge will listen to citizens’ heartfelt objections to what DHS agents were doing to our First Amendment rights and say that this can’t continue,” Eckman said in a written statement. “Democracies like ours fail not in a sudden coup but over a long period and in small ways that accumulate, and this decision is one step back to normalcy, and to government by the people, for the people.”
In a written statement provided to Scripps News, the Department of Homeland Security called the rulings unnecessary.
“Law enforcement does not use crowd control measures on protestors – they are only used on rioters,” a spokesperson said. “The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting. DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters. We remind the public that rioting is dangerous—obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime and assaulting law enforcement is a felony.”
A spokesperson also said, “DHS is authorized to do what is appropriate and necessary in each situation to diffuse violence against our officers in the most appropriate manner possible. We, as a federal law enforcement agency, will continue to safeguard the American people, our homeland, with honor, integrity and values in line with the U.S. Constitution and basic common sense.”
Dubner said the ruling offers some relief for the people he represents, but the lawsuit is not over.
“It’s not the end of the fight. The case will proceed to a judgment, but for now, it’s a tremendous relief,” Dubner said. “We’re so grateful and humbled to be representing the residents of Gray’s Landing, people who have been through an indescribable ordeal and have shown tremendous bravery in telling their stories in public and coming forward to say, ‘No. This has to stop.’”
