Protests escalated outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland early Friday morning, with police arresting 10 people.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Thursday evening to protest increased immigration enforcement policies under the Trump administration.
Demonstrations in Portland had begun ramping up in response to events in Los Angeles last week. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump deployed thousands of National Guard members to L.A. to quell protests, despite objections from California officials. A number of protests have since cropped up across the country, including up and down the West Coast.
Thursday night’s protest in Portland began as largely peaceful demonstrations, with music and chanting.
The building’s entryway, which has been the site of repeated protests, was covered with graffiti and messages condemning ICE. A makeshift barricade assembled from pallets, electric scooters, a dumpster and other items covered a gated driveway into the facility.
Later in the evening, protesters and onlookers told OPB some people threw fireworks at the building, and others ignited a small fire near the driveway barricade. Shortly after that, Portland police officers on bicycles and members of the bureau’s Rapid Response Team arrived.
The Portland Police Bureau said in a release early Friday morning that 10 people were arrested for charges including arson, interfering with a peace officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
Portland police officers formed a line that spanned the street in front of the ICE building, but they did not appear to go onto the federal property.
Just after 1 a.m., PPB loaded into a van and left the area as the lingering crowd cheered.
Groups of protesters began to leave the area after Portland police drove off. A smaller group stayed and resumed their protest directly outside the gate and front entrance of the ICE building.
Within minutes, federal officers began firing crowd control munitions into the remaining group from the roof of the building. That pushed the demonstrators away from the barricade at the entrance.
The evening marked an escalation from previous nights.
Earlier in the week, some two dozen protesters gathered outside the building. They briefly clashed with federal officers, but the evening was largely uneventful.
Federal officials have increased immigration enforcement across the country in recent weeks. In Portland, at least four asylum-seekers have been arrested outside immigration court.
More demonstrations are planned in Portland and across the country on Saturday.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.