Suspected Gang Member ‘Weaponized’ Vehicle Against Border Patrol Agents In Portland, DHS Says

A suspected member of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua attempted to run over federal immigration officers in Portland, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

One Border Patrol officer pulled a gun and fired a “defensive shot” at the vehicle. The suspected gang member and his passenger, also suspected of gang ties, sped off.

“At 2:19 PST, US Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon. The passenger of the vehicle and target is a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting in Portland,” Homeland Security said. “The vehicle driver is believed to be a member of the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. 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,” the statement continued.

At 2:19 PST, US Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon. The passenger of the vehicle and target is a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting in…

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 9, 2026

The department released the statement after reports began to circulate that federal immigration agents shot and wounded two people in Portland. It was not immediately clear if the reports and the statement from Homeland Security are related.

The shooting in Portland comes a day after an ICE agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis. The woman had blocked a road with her vehicle. As federal officers exited their vehicles and approached her vehicle, requesting she exit hers, the woman backed up before pulling her car forward. One officer in front of the car then fired a fatal shot at the woman.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the ICE agents’ conduct, calling the incident “an act of domestic terrorism.”

“This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement who are facing 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats,” the agency said.

The event sparked mass demonstrations in Minneapolis. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz threatened to call in the National Guard and called for mass protests across the United States against immigration officers.