Hundreds testify at Portland committee hearing calling for revocation of ICE facility permit on South Macadam

Dozens of Portland residents and immigrant-rights advocates urged the Community and Public Safety Committee on July 8 to revoke a conditional use permit for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility at 4310 South Macadam, saying the site repeatedly violates permit conditions and poses a public-safety and public-health threat to nearby residents and a school.

Speakers at the hearing — which was devoted entirely to public testimony — described repeated uses of chemical agents, long detentions that they say exceed the permit’s 12‑hour limit, and aggressive tactics by federal agents. “Revoking the permit is not enough,” said Lily Larson, a District 4 resident. “You must use the Portland Police Bureau to protect the constitutional rights of the people of Portland from a federal government who is becoming alien to the constitution.”

Why it matters: Testifiers said the McAdam facility’s operations undermine Portland’s sanctuary-city commitments, threaten neighborhood safety and children’s health near Cottonwood School of Civics and Science, and reduce access to legal counsel when detainees are transferred out of Portland. Several speakers pointed to reporting and ICE data they said show the facility has held detainees for longer than…