Federal immigration officers shot two people during a vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, according to federal and local authorities, marking the second day in a row that an immigration enforcement operation has resulted in a shooting.
The Department of Homeland Security said U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted a “targeted vehicle stop” aimed at a passenger who is an illegal Venezuelan national suspected of ties to the transnational gang Tren de Aragua. DHS alleges the individual is connected to a prostitution ring associated with the gang and may have been involved in a recent shooting. The driver of the vehicle is also believed by DHS to be affiliated with Tren de Aragua.
According to DHS, the situation escalated after agents identified themselves.
“When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents. Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene. This situation is evolving, and more information is forthcoming,” the department said in a statement.
Portland police confirmed that federal agents were involved in a shooting that left two people — a man and a woman — hospitalized with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers who arrived at the scene applied a tourniquet and called for emergency medical assistance. Police said local law enforcement was not involved in the operation itself. The condition of the two individuals who were shot has not been publicly released.
Portland Police Chief Bob Day said the investigation is in its early stages and urged the public to remain calm.
“We are still in the early stages of this incident,” Day said in a statement. “We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more.”
The Portland shooting occurred one day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman, during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. DHS has said Good used her vehicle to interfere with the operation. On Thursday, the department disclosed that the ICE agent involved had previously been dragged behind a vehicle driven by an undocumented immigrant during a traffic stop last year.
The Trump administration has defended the ICE agent’s actions, characterizing the shooting as self-defense. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Wednesday, “Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism.”
Good’s death has prompted strong criticism of ICE from Minnesota officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Hours after the shooting, Frey publicly condemned ICE operations in the city. Walz has said the state will conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, though federal authorities have indicated they may not participate in Minnesota’s probe.
Good, a mother of three, moved to Minneapolis last year and was raising her children with her wife, Rebecca. She had two children from a previous marriage and one from her second. According to the New York Post, citing local sources, Good became involved in anti-ICE activism through her six-year-old son’s charter school. The Trump administration has also said it has increased federal resources in Minnesota, citing concerns related to a large-scale Somali fraud investigation in the state.
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