A U.S. immigration enforcement operation in Portland, Oregon, ended in gunfire on Thursday after a federal agent shot and wounded two people during a vehicle stop.Â
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Border Patrol agents were carrying out a targeted stop when the driver of a vehicle, described as a suspected Venezuelan gang member, allegedly attempted to use the car as a weapon against officers. DHS said an agent fired a defensive shot, after which the vehicle fled the scene with both the driver and a passenger inside.
Portland police said the incident occurred near a medical clinic in the eastern part of the city. About six minutes after officers arrived and confirmed that federal agents were involved, they were alerted that a man and a woman suffering from gunshot wounds were seeking help roughly two miles away. Police applied tourniquets to both individuals before they were taken to hospital. Their conditions were not immediately known.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting have not been independently verified, and local authorities said they were initially given limited information. Portland Police Chief Bob Day acknowledged the heightened tensions following the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent in Minneapolis a day earlier and urged residents to remain calm while investigations continue.
At a news conference later on Thursday, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Oregon Governor Tina Kotek called for a pause in the federal immigration crackdown until a full and independent investigation is completed. Both leaders said key details about the Portland incident remained unclear, including whether it was directly connected to immigration enforcement activity.
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Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced that his office has opened a formal investigation to determine whether any federal officer acted outside the bounds of lawful authority. He reiterated long-standing concerns about the use of force by federal agents in Portland and across the country.
The shooting sparked protests outside the Portland ICE facility, as demonstrators voiced opposition to federal immigration operations. State Senator Kayse Jama also condemned the presence of federal agents, delivering a sharp rebuke during the news conference.
The Portland incident follows the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old mother of three by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, which has triggered two days of protests there.
Federal authorities have deployed ICE and Border Patrol officers to multiple U.S. cities as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement drive, a strategy applauded by supporters but criticised by Democrats and civil rights groups as unnecessarily confrontational.
