Portland residents sue ICE for using tear gas that seeps their homes and endangers their health

"Residents of an affordable housing complex in Portland, Oregon, have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Secretary Kristi Noem for the repeated use of tear gas in front of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, arguing that federal agents have allowed chemicals to enter their homes for months. The use of tear gas is prohibited by various protocols and conventions in wartime contexts, but it is continually deployed in domestic contexts in the United States and other countries."

"The Gray's Landing complex is located less than 100 feet from the federal building. According to the lawsuit, the government is knowingly releasing poison gas into the homes of its own citizens. Residents claim that the gas sticks to walls, carpets, furniture, and children's toys, causing ongoing exposure beyond the visible moments of dispersal. The lawsuit was filed after months of clashes between federal agents and protesters outside the ICE facility in Portland's South Waterfront neighborhood."

"The residents' lawsuit claims that they are suffering immense physical and psychological harm from repeated exposure to the gases. The document describes how children living at Gray's Landing have become accustomed to weapons of war exploding outside their homes, and that some of them sleep in closets to reduce exposure to gas entering through gaps in their windows. Whitfield Taylor, one of the plaintiffs, stated that his daughters are constantly unable to sleep because of the booming flashbangs that federal officers deployed outside their unit."

Residents of Gray's Landing, an affordable housing complex less than 100 feet from a federal ICE office in Portland, filed a lawsuit against DHS and Secretary Kristi Noem over repeated use of tear gas. Chemical munitions allegedly entered homes, sticking to walls, carpets, furniture, and children's toys and causing ongoing exposure beyond dispersal events. Residents report immense physical and psychological harm, children sleeping in closets, and constant sleep disruption from flashbangs. DHS defends the use as a response to riots while local authorities characterize several protests as peaceful.

Read at english.elpais.com