In Portland, Oregon, the air near Mindy King’s apartment has become so thick with tear gas that she and her 13-year-old son now own gas masks, wearing them even indoors. Her neighbor, Diane Moreno, has made multiple trips to urgent care, suffering from chest tightness and nosebleeds.
The culprit, they claim, is a nearby Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, situated less than 100 feet from their residences.
For months, ICE agents have regularly deployed tear gas against protestors gathered outside the facility. This persistent chemical exposure, according to King and her neighbors, presents a grave danger to their health and well-being.
Now, these residents of the affordable housing complex are fighting back with a groundbreaking lawsuit against the Trump administration. They accuse the U.S. government of intentionally contaminating their homes with toxic substances, which they say cling to everything from walls and carpets to clothes, furniture, and even children’s toys, creating an inescapable hazardous environment.
Legal experts are calling this case unprecedented, noting its focus on the significant public health and environmental damage caused by tear gas, rather than solely on civil rights violations or police tactics.
Further complicating matters, the lawsuit alleges that federal agents sometimes deployed these chemical munitions not to control crowds, but specifically to generate dramatic footage for conservative media influencers present at the scene. A crucial hearing seeking an injunction against future tear gas use is set for Friday.
“It’s unbelievable that I have to live in fear of tear gas invading my own home,” laments Ms. King, a single mother of two living in Gray’s Landing, whose apartment overlooks the ICE facility. “There’s no sense of security left. This doesn’t feel like home anymore.”
Experts suggest this case illuminates the escalating intensity of federal immigration enforcement actions in cities nationwide.
It also powerfully highlights the inherent danger of tear gas. Dr. Anthony M. Szema, a clinical professor of medicine and chair of the Section on Terrorism and Inhalation Disasters at the American Thoracic Society, unequivocally states that tear gas, despite being banned in international warfare, is an ‘indiscriminate weapon and a respiratory hazard, period’ when used in domestic policing.
Dr. Szema warns, “If it wafts into an enclosed space, like a car or a housing development where children are, where pregnant women are, where elderly people are, that’s a setup for disaster.”
In response, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (which oversees ICE), maintained that federal agents are “authorized to do what is appropriate and necessary in each situation to diffuse violence against our officers.”
The lawsuit specifically names the Department of Homeland Security, its secretary, Kristi Noem, and other associated agencies.
Ms. McLaughlin further asserted that the frequent protests at the Portland ICE facility were “not remotely ICE’s fault.” This claim, however, stands in contrast to a federal judge’s recent characterization of the Portland protests as “largely peaceful,” leading to the blocking of National Guard deployment in the city.
Tear gas is engineered for temporary incapacitation, intended for short-term use, not the prolonged exposure seen over weeks or months, and without causing permanent injury.
Despite its intended temporary effects, mounting research indicates that the intense irritation to eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs caused by tear gas exposure may not always be short-lived, with many long-term health and environmental risks still poorly understood.
Dr. Rohini Haar, an emergency physician at Kaiser Medical Center in Oakland and a medical adviser to Physicians for Human Rights, warns that for both protestors and the public, prolonged exposure to these chemical irritants can lead to lasting skin and lung damage, exacerbate asthma, trigger infections like bronchitis and pneumonia, and even cause blindness. ‘These chemical irritants can injure so many different parts of your body,’ she emphasizes.
The deployment of tear gas in Portland stems from protests that began the previous summer. In a striking move in late September, President Trump declared he was “directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to deploy all necessary Troops to protect War-ravaged Portland,” signaling a significant escalation.
The lawsuit further charges that agents have used tear gas against predominantly nonviolent protests without justification, at times seemingly for the benefit of media influencers documenting the events. One such instance cited is an October 4th event where a small group of protestors near the ICE facility were hit with tear gas and smoke grenades, all while military helicopters hovered overhead and influencers filmed.
Following this, prominent right-wing media personality Ben Bergquam posted a video with the dramatic caption: “Happening now at the Portland ICE facility! Multiple arrests, tear gas and the fight to save our country!”
The White House later incorporated these scenes of tear gas and smoke into a video montage, with the Gray’s Landing apartment complex visibly shrouded in the background haze.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Trump invited several of these media figures to the White House for a presidential round table discussion.
The White House chose to redirect all comments regarding the matter to the Department of Homeland Security.
It’s important to clarify that tear gas is not a true gas, but a fine powder combined with toxic solvents and propellants.
Dr. Haar, also a medical adviser to Physicians for Human Rights, emphasizes that exposure to tear gas poses particular risks to vulnerable populations, including children, seniors, and individuals with pre-existing health conditions.
Recent studies have brought to light previously unrecognized risks of tear gas to reproductive health. However, Dr. Haar notes that significant research gaps remain, especially concerning its long-term impact.
Even after the visible fog dissipates, tear gas chemicals can linger in the environment, as seen in Hong Kong in 2019, where extensive police use during protests led to schools suspending classes for deep cleaning due to persistent contamination.
Reach Community Development, the nonprofit managing Gray’s Landing, has invested over $100,000 in air filtration systems and other protective equipment, striving to shield the building’s approximately 240 residents from the pervasive tear gas.
Determining the precise travel distance of tear gas and its ease of entry into nearby structures remains a complex challenge.
A 2020 investigation by Forensic Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London, into Portland police tear gas use during a Black Lives Matter protest revealed that the chemicals likely spread over half a mile, with airborne concentrations in some areas exceeding federally-recognized safety limits by more than 800 times.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that harmful effects of tear gas are “more likely if someone was exposed in a closed setting, such as indoors,” recommending evacuation from affected buildings. However, the CDC’s guidance does not address situations where tear gas is deployed repeatedly outside homes.
The origins of modern tear gas trace back to World War I, when the chemical industry developed ‘harassing agents’ like CN. Today, CS gas, considered more potent yet less toxic, is the most frequently deployed agent.
While international law prohibits tear gas in warfare, the U.S. and other nations have successfully advocated for an exception, allowing its continued use in domestic policing.
Karen Pita Loor, a clinical law professor and protest expert at Boston University, sees this lawsuit as a ‘sign of the times.’
She emphasizes that while much attention has rightly been given to protestors, this case is uniquely significant for highlighting how these chemicals are now causing harm across entire communities.
Residents of Gray’s Landing, a complex housing low-income veterans and Section 8 recipients, report finding spent tear gas canisters on their balconies and in the courtyard. Ms. King, who now films protests from her window, states that federal agents have fired canisters directly at her apartment. In October, Ms. Moreno herself was exposed to tear gas and struck by rubber bullets in the building’s driveway on her way home, resulting in painful bruises.
Ms. Moreno is now forced to spend nights sleeping in her bathtub, towel under the door, or even in her car, seeking refuge from the persistent fumes. “Protesters choose to be out there and face the risk of tear gas or rubber bullets,” she states. “We don’t have that choice. We live here.”