ICE Shares Controversial Video of Handcuffed Portland Protester Amid Federal Deployment Dispute

A video shared by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has captured significant attention online, showing a Portland protester being transported on a metal flatbed cart while in custody.

The footage, which ICE posted to their X (formerly Twitter) account, was controversially paired with Chamillionaire's 2005 hit song 'Ridin'. In the video, a man from Oregon can be seen lying face down with his hands restrained behind his back, visibly agitated as officials wheel him away.

ICE captioned the post with: "Portland - Refuse to walk? We'll give you a ride."

The video quickly garnered reactions across social media, including support from far-right commentator Laura Loomer who responded, "I love this account."

This incident occurs amid escalating tensions in Portland, where President Donald Trump has controversially deployed 300 California National Guard troops despite a federal court order prohibiting such action. The city has experienced ongoing anti-ICE demonstrations, with nightly confrontations between federal agents and protesters at a downtown ICE facility following Trump's announcement to send troops to what he termed a "war-ravaged" city.

Trump had previously directed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to deploy "all necessary troops" to Portland and employ "full force" to protect ICE operations from individuals he characterized as "domestic terrorists." This prompted the state of Oregon to file legal action to block the deployment.

US District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, ruled against the deployment on Saturday. In her decision, she emphasized, "This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law," according to PBS reporting.

Judge Immergut determined that deploying active-duty military personnel to Portland would violate both the US Constitution and federal laws prohibiting military involvement in domestic law enforcement. She observed that the protests at the immigration facility were "small and uneventful" and described the President's order as "simply untethered to the facts."

This incident follows a pattern of criticism directed at ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, for publishing videos that showcase enforcement actions with pop culture references. In a recent example last month, Pokemon Company International claimed DHS had used its intellectual property without authorization in a Pokemon-themed presentation of raids, as reported by the BBC. The controversial video, shared across social media platforms, incorporated Pokemon imagery, slogans, and anime clips, featuring mugshots of arrested individuals alongside the franchise's recognizable slogan, "Gotta catch 'em all."