Portland Police Chief Bob Day defended his department’s reforms and “crowd support” policing even as federal agents faced violent anti-ICE protesters without help, after city leaders ordered police not to respond.

Last week, Cammila Wamsley, director of Portland’s ICE office, said the facility has endured more than 100 straight nights of violence, with Portland police largely absent under direction from the mayor and city council.

“It’s frustrating for us to watch people be attacked on the street and know that we don’t have the authority to be able to really step in unless there’s some nexus to federal law,” Wamsley said.

She added that nightly protests have escalated beyond changes and signs, with bottle rockets striking the ICE building, rocks shattering windows, lasers targeting officers’ eyes and barricades blocking vehicles.

A Federal Protective Service officer stands guard in front of demonstrators as protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) draw hundreds to the ICE headquarters in south Portland, on Sept. 28, 2025.  (John Rudoff/Reuters)

“Much like any major city, our challenges are significant, and we are addressing them,” Day added. “Yet I believe this is Portland’s opportunity — not to be defined by division, but to show resilience, unity and innovation.”

Anti-ICE protests have continued across the country in recent weeks, including in Portland and near Chicago.

On Saturday, federal agents were rammed and boxed in by 10 cars near Chicago, where anti-ICE crowds have gathered for days and nearly a dozen people have been arrested.

Earlier this summer, President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration enforcement protests.

On Saturday, a federal judge in Oregon temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard in Portland as part of a lawsuit brought by the state and city.

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.