A federal judge in Oregon on Friday ordered federal officers at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland to greatly restrict their use of tear gas until a lawsuit over the crowd control munitions is settled.

The case that prompted the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Baggio is one of two parallel lawsuits in federal court — before two different judges — to limit the use of tear gas, pepper balls and other chemicals outside the city’s ICE facility. The lawsuit before Baggio was brought by tenants at a nearby apartment complex who alleged their rights had been violated by chemical munitions seeping into their homes.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon is expected to rule by Monday on another lawsuit over federal officers’ use of tear gas brought by protesters who sued. A three-day mini-trial in that case ended Wednesday, and Simon took the case under advisement.

Baggio acknowledged her decision on Friday is “an extraordinary remedy.”

“But this is an extraordinary case,” she wrote in a 57-page ruling.

Representatives for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The tenants’ attorneys cheered Baggio’s ruling. In a statement, they wrote that Baggio’s ruling recognizes “that poisoning a residential community with toxic chemicals is a profound abuse of power.”

This story will be updated.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/03/06/oregon-ice-building-portland-immigration-tear-gas/