A Salem business owner says she watched a federal agent’s partner spray a man in the eyes during a chaotic confrontation near Lancaster Drive Northeast and Sunnyview Road Northeast, an encounter that has since drawn condemnation from city council members and renewed scrutiny of federal immigration tactics in the capital city.
Saida Veliz told KATU she arrived around 9:30 a.m. Saturday to open her business and found people already gathered near ICE vehicles. She said an American confronted a truck driver during the standoff, and the driver’s partner responded by spraying the man in the eyes. “That is abuse,” Veliz said, calling the action cowardice and adding that federal agents were not following the law as they should. She said the scene affected her deeply.
According to OPB, about 30 people had surrounded ICE vehicles and were blocking them in with cars near the intersection before federal agents used tear gas to clear the crowd. Salem police, who said they had no prior knowledge of the ICE activity and did not coordinate with the agency, reported that the agents had left before local officers arrived, per KATU’s account of police statements.
Residents Describe Breathing Trouble and Eye Irritation
Salem police and firefighters responded to reports of people struggling to breathe and suffering eye irritation after the tear gas was deployed, the station reported. OPB’s reporting on the same incident noted that people had eye irritation and were struggling to breathe as first responders arrived to help.
Paul Tigan, who identified Sunnyview Road and Lancaster Drive as his own neighborhood and community, told the council the weekend confrontation was part of an ongoing experience for communities targeted by federal immigration enforcement. He urged continued community support and asked residents to keep using their voices.
Council Members Press for Accountability
The Salem City Council met Monday, and multiple members used the session to criticize the federal response. Councilmember Mai Vang said northeast Salem residents have reported a sharp increase in federal immigration enforcement, and that families are afraid to take their children to school, go to work, or walk to the store. She said ICE agents were bringing chaos and endangering children, families, and community members, describing those affected as neighbors working in kitchens, warehouses, and care facilities, operating businesses, and attending local schools. Vang thanked Salem police for following restrictions on participating in federal immigration enforcement and thanked firefighters for providing medical assistance at the scene.
Councilmember Irvin Brown said reports of a Black person taken into custody in the Portland area made the issue especially personal for him, but added that concern should extend to everyone, not only people of color. “Public safety should not be dictated upon someone’s race, gender, creed, religion or belief,” Brown said, according to KATU.
DHS Defends Agents, Alleges Vehicle Damage
The Department of Homeland Security pushed back on the characterization of the confrontation, telling OPB that protesters struck government vehicles with baseball bats and rocks, threatening harm to officers and the public while causing significant damage. DHS defended its officers’ use of force to control the situation, saying they used their training to act professionally and with integrity, and warned that people who assault or obstruct officers could face arrest and prosecution. The department said ICE officers receive ongoing de-escalation training and are trained to use the minimum force necessary to resolve dangerous situations.
DHS also claimed that rhetoric targeting ICE contributes to increased assaults against officers, though the statement supplied to KATU did not include supporting data for that claim.
Police Say They Are Gathering Evidence, Not Enforcing Immigration Law
Salem Interim Police Chief Brandon Ditto said local officers respond to these situations to protect people rather than to participate in immigration enforcement. He urged people to seek police assistance regardless of immigration status and asked crime victims and witnesses to come forward. Ditto said Salem officers are collecting evidence that could otherwise be lost and are forwarding information to oversight agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Oregon Department of Justice, according to KATU’s reporting on the police department’s statement.
The City of Salem separately said it condemns any illegal use of force or alleged violations of constitutional rights by federal law enforcement against Salem residents, in a statement from the city manager and city attorney. The City of Salem says it does not enforce federal immigration law or assist federal agencies with enforcement except in narrow circumstances such as a valid court order, citing Council Policy A-9, adopted in 1997, and a December 2025 city council resolution declaring a state of emergency over the impacts of federal immigration enforcement on the community.
Part of a Broader Spike in Oregon Arrests
The Salem confrontation came amid what advocates describe as a sharp rise in immigration enforcement activity across Oregon. The Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition reported 21 immigration arrests statewide between Tuesday and Thursday of that week, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive, including at least one arrest near Century High School in Hillsboro. The coalition had previously confirmed 92 arrests across Oregon in August and 76 in September. ICE arrests in Oregon totaled 2,472 from January 2025 through early August 2026, per data from the Data Deportation Project cited by the outlet, with monthly arrests statewide peaking at 484 last November during an operation federal officials called Operation Black Rose.
