The landlord that manages the apartment complex across the street from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it may sue the federal government over its use of tear gas and other munitions during protests outside the South Portland building.
A spokesperson for Reach Community Development told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday that the nonprofit has retained an attorney to look into filing a lawsuit. The aim is to force federal officers to halt their use of tear gas and other munitions that affect the more than 200 low-income tenants of Gray’s Landing, which sits across South Bancroft Street from the ICE building.
Nighttime demonstrations outside the facility have remained mostly nonviolent, but are consistently loud and disruptive for nearby residents. On active nights, federal officers have fired tear gas, smoke bombs and pepper balls at crowds protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, sending toxic fumes into Gray’s Landing living and office spaces.
The Oregonian/OregonLive spent an evening in October with tenants in three different apartments to report on how tenants cope with the disruptions. Residents described damaging health effects from the airborne toxins and a heavy emotional toll from dealing with jackhammer-level noise they can’t completely drown out by turning up their TVs.
Gray’s Landing tenants said they’d experienced coughing fits, sleepless nights and have the feeling of being constantly watched as drones skim past their windows, helicopters circle overhead and federal officers stand watch on the ICE building’s roof.
Reach has previously said it has spent at least $150,000 on measures that include renting industrial air filters to put in hallways and replacing the building’s HVAC filters to make conditions in the building more tolerable. The nonprofit is exploring the lawsuit on behalf of both tenants and staff who work in the organization’s ground-floor headquarters, according to spokesperson Lauren Schmidt.
“The repeated use of tear gas, smoke bombs, pepper balls and other tactics outside of the ICE facility has had a direct impact on residents’ well-being, and has created significant hardship for Reach, a nonprofit organization working to create affordable housing our community urgently needs,” Schmidt said in an email.
“Especially as we approach the holiday season and gather with loved ones,” Schmidt added, “Reach believes strongly that residents should feel safe in their homes without concern of exposure to federal use of chemical agents and tactics.”
Schmidt said the nonprofit had not committed to filing a lawsuit but reemphasized prior calls for federal officers to halt their use of chemical munitions against protesters.
Reach officials plan to meet with Gray’s Landing residents Monday to discuss the potential lawsuit, Chief Executive Margaret Salazar said.
Any lawsuit would be aimed at the federal government, Salazar said, and not developer Stuart Lindquist, the ICE facility landlord who has come under fire from detractors who criticize him for allowing immigration agents to operate from his building.
“For now our focus is federal action, not the landlord,” Salazar said. “Part of the work to be done is to get advice from counsel on which legal avenues we may want to pursue.”
–Kristine de Leon contributed to this article.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
