Portland police made six arrests on Thursday evening as demonstrations erupted following a shooting by US border patrol agents that left two Venezuelan immigrants injured. The incident has intensified local outrage against federal immigration enforcement and prompted city leaders to demand a full investigation.
Shooting Details and Conflicting Accounts
The Department of Homeland Security identified the injured individuals as Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras and Luis David Nico Moncada, both undocumented immigrants from Venezuela. According to a DHS statement, agents stopped a vehicle on Thursday afternoon outside a Portland hospital while searching for a person suspected of ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The department claims agents opened fire when the driver attempted to run them over. "Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene," the DHS said.
However, a witness at the medical building gave a different account to the Oregonian, describing federal officers following a Toyota pickup into a parking lot and trying to corner it. The witness stated an officer pounded on the window before the driver reversed and moved forward several times, striking another car, before speeding away.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News both individuals were suspected of gang ties, but noted this connection appeared "less certain" than initially stated. The department has not provided documentation for this claim.
Community Response and Peaceful Pleas
The shooting, occurring just one day after a fatal shooting by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, has fuelled existing criticism of the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies in Portland. The city saw months of protests last year focused on an ICE processing facility.
Local leaders forcefully condemned the violence while urging residents to protest peacefully. Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley warned on social media platform X, "Trump wants to generate riots. Don't take the bait." Portland's police chief, Bob Day, echoed calls for calm, acknowledging the "heightened emotion and tension" but asking the community to remain peaceful as details emerge.
For the most part, protesters heeded these calls. A gathering of about a hundred people outside Portland city hall chanted "Abolish ICE!", while a smaller group returned to the ICE facility, many wearing the animal costumes that have become a symbol of the local protest movement.
Demands for Investigation and ICE Removal
The situation escalated later when police used force to clear protesters from the street outside the ICE facility, resulting in the six arrests. Among those detained was a young man known for wearing an inflatable frog costume to protests, though he was in street clothes at the time.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson expressed deep scepticism of the federal government's narrative. "There was a time when we could take them at their word. That time is long past," he stated at a news conference. He called on ICE to end all operations in Portland pending a full investigation, declaring the city was not a "training ground for militarized agents."
Maxine Dexter, the Democratic representative for the district where the shooting occurred and a doctor, demanded ICE leave Portland entirely. "ICE has done nothing but inject terror, chaos and cruelty into our communities," she said, accusing Trump's immigration apparatus of using violence straight from an authoritarian playbook.
The call for an independent, local investigation was unanimous among Portland officials. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced his office was opening a formal investigation to examine whether "any federal officer acted outside the scope of their lawful authority." This move follows concerns over excessive use of force by federal agents both in Portland and nationally.
The FBI's Portland office is also investigating the shooting. Authorities have not confirmed the condition of the injured, though emergency dispatch audio indicated a 911 caller reported being shot twice in the arm and his wife shot in the chest.
