ICE Facility Left Exposed In Portland While Calls for Protection Are Ignored

PORTLAND, OR- At a time when the Portland police union has come out supporting President Trump’s offer of federal help to assist besieged Portland officers, city leaders have ordered a cordon in the area near South Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building removed, despite demands from the federal government for the city to erect a more permanent barrier around the facility, Oregon Live reports.

Portland’s far-left mayor, Keith Wilson, on Wednesday ordered the removal after some members of Portland’s city council complained that keeping the area cordoned off “could inflame protesters” and city residents. Bear in mind that downtown Portland has been virtually under siege since the overdose death of George Floyd in 2020, with hilariously named Antifa rioters conducting violent riots throughout the city.
 

Wilson said the barriers could “intensify” the nightly demonstrations that have taken place for months (years) outside the federal building. Portland's "peaceful" riots in June 2025:

In response to the violent riots, President Trump last week signaled he intends to send National Guard units into the city to protect the city as a whole, as well as ICE facilities. 

“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa and other domestic terrorists,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post. “I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary.” 

According to Camilla Wamsley, director of Portland’s ICE office, she had previously told Fox News Digital that the facility had been the target of violence for over 100 straight nights, while saying that Portland police officers have been directed not to assist. The violent protesters use bottle rockets, barricades blocking vehicles, and lasers directed at officers’ eyes,” Wamsley continued. 

The president of the Portland Police Association told Fox News Digital he wants to work with federal law enforcement entities to try to solve the city’s crime issue. 

“Let’s present what resources we have to bring to bear to accomplish that task,” Sgt. Aaron Schmautz told Fox News Digital. “And if it’s not sufficient, then we need help. And so, you know again, I don’t want to be drawn into a hard yes or no. What I want is for us all to identify the problem and work together as a whole of government to  solve the  problem.” 

Schmautz acknowledged that the Portland Police Bureau is “horrifically understaffed” and said some local leaders do not support the police department. 

“There is a lot, I mean, of just open, very, very anti-police rhetoric in our city council meetings,” he said. 

“We are still working our way out of a significant, you know, burst, or an expansion in our crime profile. I mean, we have, you know, our homicides went up, times five from 2020 to 2023, and we’re kind of slowly receding, although we’ve had nine last month,” Schmautz said. 

He also expressed sympathy for federal law enforcement officials following a series of attacks. 

“I am extraordinarily sympathetic to how concerned and afraid federal officers–I mean, there was a shooting in Dallas at an ICE facility. There are federal officers being hit by cars. And you know, in a world where we have different perspectives about politics, it’s one thing to have policy discussions and everything else. But no one should be OK with violence directed at anyone,” Schmautz continued. 

For his part, Wilson doesn’t care. 

“We want to listen to the council, we want to listen to community members,” Wilson told Oregon Live after a two-hour closed-door executive session at City Hall. “Having hundreds of more people down there is the last thing we want. We don’t want people down in that area right now because they are at risk of getting hurt.” 

The Portland Police Bureau had cordoned off areas to the north and east of the ICE building, characterized by police officials as an example of “routine support” for a visiting dignitary, in this case U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. 

The perimeter was in place earlier this week, however, it was removed after Noem left. Wilson had initially planned to keep the area shut down due to what he called “rising tensions” in recent days, blaming the so-called “escalating use of force” by federal law enforcement officers against violent Antifa thugs. 

“Police staff had been working on this for the last week,” Wilson said. “What can we do to keep the community safe? The federal government, they don’t share the same concerns for Portlanders that we do.” In other words, Wilson and his ilk couldn’t care less about Portlanders. 

Wilson did say the city may decide that creating a “buffer zone” in the future might be a prudent course to follow. 

During her visit, Noem and other federal officials met privately with Wilson earlier this week. They demanded that the city maintain a closed-off area around the ICE building. 

U.S. Attorney Scott Bradford, who heads the Oregon office, sent a letter asking for the creation of a permanent perimeter to keep protesters away from the building and into surrounding neighborhoods. The federal government also asked the city to create “free speech zones” where protesters would be confined, and those who left those zones would be subject to arrest and prosecution. 

They also demanded the city ensure federal officers would be allowed access and egress from the building undeterred, and that the Portland Police Bureau would “prioritize” any calls for assistance based on “threats to federal property or persons.” The letter was sent to Portland Police Chief Bob Day. 

Wilson responded in what was called an “oppositional tone.” 

He said the city would commit to “peacefully facilitating free speech throughout the city,” but would not concede to the federal demands, particularly restricting violent protesters to certain areas. 

He claimed the department had added additional personnel and would continue responding to service calls, including from federal employees, however, he would not alter existing response policies, with life-saving emergencies taking priority. 

Wilson added:

“We continue to ask that your federal law enforcement officials raise their operational and legal standards in terms of use of force and munitions, officer identification, and body-worn cameras,” Wilson wrote. “The actions of certain officers continue to be deeply disturbing to our community, and the lack of accountability and transparency for what appears to be unconstitutional behavior against individuals expressing their rights will only serve to deepen the divide between this facility and our community.” 

What a bunch of BS. 

Use of force policies provide that law enforcement officials can meet force with equal force to neutralize the threat. If officers are being shot at with commercial-grade fireworks, they have the right to respond in kind, including with deadly physical force. 

The actions (or more accurately, inactions) being taken by Wilson and the Portland City Council are dangerous. They are putting the lives of ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officials in grave danger. 

Suppose any federal ICE agents or law enforcement agents are injured or killed as a result of Portland’s refusal to provide adequate assistance to federal ICE agents and others. In that case, Wilson and those members of the city council who are implementing such reckless and brain-dead policies need to be brought up on federal charges, including human rights violations.