Appeals Court Overturns Bans on Chemical Munitions Near Portland ICE Facility

Appeals court restores federal use of chemical munitions in Portland

“Law enforcement agents may use nonlethal force to clear crowds and restore order — they need not wait until they face ‘an imminent threat of physical harm,’” Circuit Judge Kenneth K. Lee wrote in a 2-to-1 ruling on Tuesday.

A panel of judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has officially overturned two temporary bans on the use of chemical munitions by federal law enforcement near a Portland ICE facility, according to reporting from opb.org.

The decision effectively rolls back a previous injunction from two federal judges in the Oregon district who had agreed to restrict the use of tear gas and pepper balls. While those district judges had sought to pause the deployment of such weapons until a full hearing could occur, the appellate court’s ruling on Tuesday makes the lifting of those restrictions permanent for now.

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The legal battles originated from clashes in late 2025 between federal officers and protesters gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. Those demonstrators were primarily protesting the immigration policies of President Donald Trump.

Legal challenges from residents and activists

The court addressed two distinct legal arguments in its twin decisions. The first involved residents of Gray’s Landing, an affordable-housing complex located near the South Waterfront facility. These neighbors, represented collectively as REACH Community Development, argued that the seepage of tear gas into their homes violated their civil liberties.

Residents had reported significant disruptions to their daily lives, with some stating they were forced to wear gas masks to sleep. Others noted that the chemical exposure exacerbated existing medical conditions.

“We are deeply disappointed by this decision, which leaves Gray’s Landing residents without the protections they sought after chemical munitions deployed by federal agents repeatedly polluted their homes and disrupted their daily lives,” Sky Perryman of the legal group Democracy Forward said in a statement.

In a 2-to-1 decision, the appeals court found that the neighbors failed to provide a convincing argument that the Constitution protects them from exposure to tear gas during federal crowd-control operations. However, this ruling only ends the district court’s injunction; the underlying lawsuit continues, allowing attorneys to pursue the matter further.

The second lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union’s Oregon chapter, focused on the First Amendment rights of protesters and independent journalists. They argued that federal agents used tear gas and other devices against crowds that posed no physical threat, thereby infringing on freedom of speech.

The appellate panel disagreed with this assessment in a separate 2-to-1 ruling. The court’s decision establishes a broader standard for federal law enforcement, suggesting that the immediate presence of a physical threat is not a prerequisite for the use of nonlethal munitions to clear an area.

Implications for future demonstrations

While the intersection outside the South Waterfront facility has remained relatively quiet throughout 2026, the ruling establishes how federal agencies manage civil unrest. As President Trump enters the final two years of his term, the potential for large-scale protests remains a possibility.

The outcome of these lawsuits will serve as a roadmap for federal law enforcement strategies regarding the deployment of flash-bang grenades, tear gas, and other crowd-control tools. For the communities living in the shadow of the ICE facility, the ruling removes a primary legal shield against the environmental impact of these operations.

The U.S. Department of Justice appealed the original Oregon district court restrictions and was ultimately successful in having them overturned. Neither the Department of Justice nor attorneys for the ACLU immediately responded to requests for comment following the Tuesday announcements.