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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents blasted more than two dozen protesters with tear gas after the group attempted to block their vehicles Saturday morning in Northeast Salem, according to local police.
The clash comes amid a surge in federal immigration arrests across Oregon in recent weeks.
The Salem Police Department said officers were dispatched to Lancaster Drive Northeast near Sunnyview Road at about 9:30 a.m. after ICE agents reported that 30 people had surrounded their cars and prevented them from leaving.
The federal agents deployed chemical munitions, freed their cars and left the scene before police arrived, Officer Mark Jantz, a department spokesperson, said in an email. Salem police and members of the city’s fire department treated people at the scene for tear gas exposure, Jantz said.
Salem police say they are investigating the episode and will forward its findings to the Oregon Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
A Homeland Security spokesperson did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Saturday.
In a statement, U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas condemned the federal immigration agents’ use of chemical irritants against the crowd. Salinas alleged the agents “deployed pepper spray, pepper balls and smoke canisters against the elderly and children.”
“They followed and harassed U.S. citizens, and they drove recklessly with a blatant disregard for the safety of other drivers,” Salinas, a Democrat, said. “At one point, they shut down 99E and nearly caused several accidents.”
Salinas said she planned to press federal immigration officials for more information about Saturday’s confrontation.
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