Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrives in Portland for Tuesday visit

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland on Tuesday and met with Gov. Tina Kotek in Portland, as tensions between local leaders and President Donald Trump remained high.

Speaking to OPB’s “Think Out Loud” shortly after speaking, Kotek said she and Noem had a “good conversation.”

“I’m not a pushover. We had a very direct, cordial conversation,” the governor said. “She will be meeting with local law enforcement later today, hearing from them about the efforts they have made to maintain calm.”

The Department of Homeland Security has been focused on the Portland ICE facility for months due to protests that often draw small crowds but have sometimes seen hundreds of people demonstrate against Trump’s push for more aggressive deportations and immigration enforcement. In response to some of these protests, federal officers have used crowd control weapons like tear gas and pepper balls on demonstrators, inflaming tensions.

Kotek said she specifically asked Noem that federal officers follow state laws around the use of tear gas and crowd control weapons, including limiting use in residential neighborhoods, where people who are not participating in protests may be affected.

When the secretary arrived at the South Portland ICE facility just after noon Tuesday, Portland Police Bureau officers had blocked streets and cordoned off observers and protesters.

“In the interest of public safety, Portland Police will provide the same routine support to any visiting dignitary,” a statement from the City of Portland said Tuesday.

Speaking to KGW upon her arrival, Noem said she was in the city to “secure partnerships that will keep our officers safe.”

Portland Police spokesman Mike Benner confirmed that Noem met with Chief Bob Day, as well as Oregon State Police Superintendent Casey Codding and Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell.

Since the president focused on Portland a month ago, saying life in the city is “like living in hell,” counterprotesters who support Trump’s push for aggressive immigration enforcement have also had a more frequent presence. This presence further increased disputes between different groups of protesters outside the ICE building and led to several arrests unrelated to federal operations.

City officials, business leaders and residents have disputed the White House’s claims that Portland is “war ravaged” because of protests. These protests were largely contained to the sidewalk on a single city block in front of the Ice building.

Oregon’s senior senator, Ron Wyden, a Democrat, was quick to criticize Noem’s visit.

“Kristi Noem is cosplaying as a civil servant,” Wyden said. “In reality, she was sent by Trump to incite violence.”

The Homeland Security secretary’s arrival came days after Portland was thrust into the national spotlight when the Trump administration attempted to consolidate and deploy the Oregon National Guard to the city.

That effort was stopped by a federal judge named Trump who ruled there were no conditions in Portland that justified the involvement of Oregon military personnel. The president then attempted to deploy members of the California and Texas National Guard to Portland — an effort that drew further ire from U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut and another court order halting the measures. The Trump administration has appealed the orders, and the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to weigh in as soon as Thursday.

“Recent court decisions have affirmed that Portland does not need federal military intervention and that our local approach to public safety stands on legal corporate ground,” Portland City staff said in a statement Tuesday.

When explaining his decision to block the president’s National Guard deployments, Immergut said the federal government had not proven his claims that protests outside the ICE facility had disrupted functions in the building or posed a sufficiently significant risk to federal employees whose military personnel were needed.

“This is a nation of constitutional law, not martial law,” Immergut wrote in his initial court ruling on the Oregon National Guard deployment. “Defendants have made arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between federal civilian and military power – to the detriment of this nation.”

Despite these decisions, conservative activists and media outlets have broadcast nightly from the protests, saying federal intervention is necessary to quell the demonstrations.

Video posted by conservative activist David Medina to his Instagram showed him on the tarmac Tuesday as Noem’s plane arrived in Portland, then driving into the motorcade escorting her.

“We arrived at the Portland ICE facility with @sec_noem,” Medina said.

Medina was convicted for her role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and was later pardoned as part of Trump’s clemency order for his supporters that day. He has since rebranded himself as a Trump-aligned social media influencer.

Requests from OPB and other local media to tour the ICE facility had not been granted as of Tuesday.

Alex Zielinksi and Kyra Buckley contributed to this story.