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News Release

Federal Court Orders DHS To Immediately Stop Flooding Portland Homes With Toxic Chemical Munitions - 03/06/26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 6, 2026

 

Federal Court Orders DHS to Immediately Stop Flooding Portland Homes with Toxic Chemical Munitions

 

Court Finds Residents Face Irreparable Harm and Bars Use of Tear Gas and Other Chemical Weapons Near Gray’s Landing Housing Community

 

Portland, Ore. — A federal court today ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to immediately stop deploying tear gas, smoke grenades, pepper balls, and other chemical munitions in ways that expose residents of Gray’s Landing, an affordable housing community in Portland, to toxic substances inside their homes. The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon ruling prohibits federal officers from using chemical munitions that are likely to reach Gray’s Landing while the case proceeds, except when necessary to protect human life.

 

For months, federal agents have fired chemical weapons toward and around the 209-unit housing complex during protests at a nearby Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, despite knowing that the chemicals regularly seep into apartments, hallways, and common areas. Residents, including children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, have reported respiratory distress, chest pain, panic attacks, and repeated emergency medical visits, as well as being forced to wear gas masks indoors and seal their homes.

 

The plaintiffs, Gray’s Landing residents and REACH Community Development, are represented by Democracy Forward, Protect Democracy, Jacobson Lawyers Group PLLC, and Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP. Their filings argue that this conduct violates the Fifth Amendment by infringing on residents’ rights to bodily integrity, among other rights. The court found that defendants were likely deliberately indifferent to the harms to the plaintiffs “based on the quantity of chemical munitions used, the distance from the Portland ICE Facility to the impact areas, the fact that chemical munitions are being used contrary to the advice in agency use of force manuals, and particularly in light of Defendants’ specific notice of harm to Resident Plaintiffs.” The court noted that this threatened “the Resident Plaintiffs’ rights to the most fundamental aspects of liberty known since the early days of our democracy.”

 

“This ruling affirms what residents have been saying for months,” said Margaret Salazar, CEO of REACH Community Development. “Gray’s Landing is home to families, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who have experienced repeated exposure and real harm. Today’s decision acknowledges that impact and reinforces that government action must respect clear constitutional limits when it reaches into residential communities. This is an important step toward accountability and the protection of residents’ rights in their homes.”

 

“This is a powerful victory for people who have used their voices to fight back against unconstitutional government violence,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “The court recognized that poisoning a residential community with toxic chemicals is a profound abuse of power. This decision protects basic health and safety and the right to live in one’s home without fear of chemical weapons being used by the government. Residents should not be harmed simply because they live next to a site of public protest.”

 

“Today’s ruling is a victory for the families at Gray’s Landing, but it also serves as a fierce rebuke of a federal agency that believes it can wage war on American neighborhoods with impunity,” said Katie Schwartzmann, Special Counsel at Protect Democracy. “From Los Angeles to Chicago to Minnesota, and in Portland too, we have witnessed a coordinated campaign by DHS to sow chaos and terrorize communities—citizens and non-citizens alike—under the guise of immigration enforcement. This court has now affirmed what we have long argued: the government cannot knowingly poison families in their own homes.”

 

“We are both thrilled and relieved that the Court has provided protection to our clients that have been suffering from the government’s shocking conduct for months. Our clients simply want to be able to live and breathe in their own homes without being subject to poison toxins released by their own government, and this order will help ensure they can,” said Dan Jacobson of the Jacobson Lawyers Group PLLC.

 

The case is REACH Community Development et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al. Read the decision here and the complaint here.

 

Federal Court Orders DHS To Immediately Stop Flooding Portland Homes With Toxic Chemical Munitions - 03/06/26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 6, 2026

 

Federal Court Orders DHS to Immediately Stop Flooding Portland Homes with Toxic Chemical Munitions

 

Court Finds Residents Face Irreparable Harm and Bars Use of Tear Gas and Other Chemical Weapons Near Gray’s Landing Housing Community

 

Portland, Ore. — A federal court today ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to immediately stop deploying tear gas, smoke grenades, pepper balls, and other chemical munitions in ways that expose residents of Gray’s Landing, an affordable housing community in Portland, to toxic substances inside their homes. The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon ruling prohibits federal officers from using chemical munitions that are likely to reach Gray’s Landing while the case proceeds, except when necessary to protect human life.

 

For months, federal agents have fired chemical weapons toward and around the 209-unit housing complex during protests at a nearby Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, despite knowing that the chemicals regularly seep into apartments, hallways, and common areas. Residents, including children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, have reported respiratory distress, chest pain, panic attacks, and repeated emergency medical visits, as well as being forced to wear gas masks indoors and seal their homes.

 

The plaintiffs, Gray’s Landing residents and REACH Community Development, are represented by Democracy Forward, Protect Democracy, Jacobson Lawyers Group PLLC, and Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP. Their filings argue that this conduct violates the Fifth Amendment by infringing on residents’ rights to bodily integrity, among other rights. The court found that defendants were likely deliberately indifferent to the harms to the plaintiffs “based on the quantity of chemical munitions used, the distance from the Portland ICE Facility to the impact areas, the fact that chemical munitions are being used contrary to the advice in agency use of force manuals, and particularly in light of Defendants’ specific notice of harm to Resident Plaintiffs.” The court noted that this threatened “the Resident Plaintiffs’ rights to the most fundamental aspects of liberty known since the early days of our democracy.”

 

“This ruling affirms what residents have been saying for months,” said Margaret Salazar, CEO of REACH Community Development. “Gray’s Landing is home to families, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who have experienced repeated exposure and real harm. Today’s decision acknowledges that impact and reinforces that government action must respect clear constitutional limits when it reaches into residential communities. This is an important step toward accountability and the protection of residents’ rights in their homes.”

 

“This is a powerful victory for people who have used their voices to fight back against unconstitutional government violence,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “The court recognized that poisoning a residential community with toxic chemicals is a profound abuse of power. This decision protects basic health and safety and the right to live in one’s home without fear of chemical weapons being used by the government. Residents should not be harmed simply because they live next to a site of public protest.”

 

“Today’s ruling is a victory for the families at Gray’s Landing, but it also serves as a fierce rebuke of a federal agency that believes it can wage war on American neighborhoods with impunity,” said Katie Schwartzmann, Special Counsel at Protect Democracy. “From Los Angeles to Chicago to Minnesota, and in Portland too, we have witnessed a coordinated campaign by DHS to sow chaos and terrorize communities—citizens and non-citizens alike—under the guise of immigration enforcement. This court has now affirmed what we have long argued: the government cannot knowingly poison families in their own homes.”

 

“We are both thrilled and relieved that the Court has provided protection to our clients that have been suffering from the government’s shocking conduct for months. Our clients simply want to be able to live and breathe in their own homes without being subject to poison toxins released by their own government, and this order will help ensure they can,” said Dan Jacobson of the Jacobson Lawyers Group PLLC.

 

The case is REACH Community Development et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al. Read the decision here and the complaint here.