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The sanctuary city of Portland has announced it will issue a land use violation notice on Thursday to a local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building, accusing it of repeatedly holding detainees longer than permitted and escalating a fight over a building that has already drawn months of protests, some of which have turned violent.
Officials said the notice will start a review of whether the Macadam Avenue facility is following the rules of its 2011 land use permit, which bars keeping people overnight or for more than 12 hours.
It follows a report by a local non-profit group accusing the facility of holding people for longer than permitted 25 times between Oct. 1 and July 27. The report by the Deportation Data Project was generated using ICE documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
The building’s exterior has been covered in anti-ICE graffiti while several violent clashes between agitators and federal agents have broken out several times since June, including in one incident where a large group of anti-ICE protesters tried to block law enforcement vehicles from entering and exiting the facility, forcing agents to deploy rubber bullets, tear gas and flash bangs to disperse the crowd.
Last month, anti-ICE protesters were captured on video rolling out a guillotine and clashing with police before law enforcement fired munitions to disperse the crowd.
In July, Portland’s progressive-leaning city council said it was exploring ways to expel ICE from the detention facility.
Under Portland’s sanctuary policy, city employees, including police officers, do not enforce federal immigration law. Oregon also has a sanctuary law that prohibits state and local law enforcement from participating in immigration enforcement without a warrant.
Plywood covers windows at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Ore., Sept. 17, 2025. The boarded windows were cited as a separate violation in the city’s notice. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
In the wake of violent Labor Day protests, Wilson doubled down on the city’s commitment to sanctuary policies.
“You can rest assured we won’t be engaging with or working with ICE in any circumstances,” he said.
The building is leased and managed by the General Services Administration (GSA) for federal agencies tied to ICE. It includes a processing center where officers detain and interview people to determine their immigration status.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
