Reach Community Development v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, No. 3:25-CV-2257 (D. Or., filed Dec. 5, 2025) and No. 26-1575 (9th Cir., docketed Mar. 16, 2026)

Plaintiff residents of Gary’s Landing, an apartment building located across the street from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, filed suit against Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Federal Protective Services, and the U.S. Secret Service following six months of exposure to tear gas and other chemical agents deployed by the various federal agencies against protesters outside the ICE facility. The chemical agents entered Plaintiffs’ homes through windows and vents and seeped into walls, carpets, and furniture, resulting in physical suffering including unstoppable coughing, severe burning in eyes and throats, dizziness, and difficulty breathing as well as psychological harm for the veterans and survivors of domestic violence with post-traumatic stress disorder who live in Gary’s Landing and must tolerate the government’s use of flashbang explosives.

Plaintiffs’ complaint sought relief for violations of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the Fourth Amendment in the form of declaratory judgment and a preliminary and permanent injunction against Defendants’ use of chemical munitions likely to infiltrate Gary’s Landing apartments.

Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction argued that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims that Defendants’ repeated use of chemical munitions substantially burdens and infringes upon Plaintiffs’ rights to bodily integrity, freedom from arbitrary bodily restraint and intrusions on personal security, and the use and enjoyment of their property. These intrusions, Plaintiffs argued, harmed Plaintiffs’ liberty and property interests in such a way that shocks the conscience. Plaintiffs argued, in the alternative, that Defendants’ conduct and use of force violates the Fourth Amendment as an unconstitutional seizure and restraint of Plaintiffs’ liberty of movement. Plaintiffs’ harm is irreparable given the deprivation of constitutional rights, Plaintiffs’ physical and psychological harm from having their apartments invaded by poisonous gases, and the economic costs already expended to mitigate this damage.

On March 6, 2026, the district court granted Plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction, finding that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their Fifth Amendment claim. The court highlighted the fact that Defendants continued to use chemical munitions despite multiple notices and warnings that residents at Gary’s Landing were being harmed and found that Defendant’s acts demonstrated a pattern of deliberate indifference. The court concluded that Plaintiffs showed ongoing and future harm given the repeated exposure to poisonous gases despite Plaintiffs’ efforts to protect themselves by sealing doors and windows, using air purifiers, wearing gas masks in their homes and even to sleep, and taking frequent showers. The court found that the resulting adverse effects on Plaintiffs’ respiratory systems, heart health, and other medical conditions as well as the psychological distress suffered met the standard for irreparable harm. The court held that Defendants’ interests in protecting federal property and employees and maintaining public order do not outweigh the constitutional rights of the residents of Gary’s Landing. The court ordered Defendants to cease the use of chemical munitions and gases in quantities likely to reach Gary’s Landing unless necessary to address an imminent threat to life.

On March 25, 2026, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the government’s emergency motion for a stay pending appeal and ordered expedited briefing. The court heard oral arguments on April 7, 2026.

On April 27, 2026, the Ninth Circuit issued an order reasoning that the federal government is likely to win on appeal and rejected the district court’s holding that residents of Gary’s Landing have a Fifth Amendment right to be free from exposure to tear-gas chemicals used by law enforcement, citing to Dobbs to argue that rights must be deeply rooted in history and tradition to be cognizable under a substantive due process analysis. The Ninth Circuit also rejected the district court’s finding that Plaintiffs have a substantive due process right to bodily integrity.

Documents:

• Complaint
• Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction
• District Court Opinion & Order
• Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Order on Motion for Stay Pending Appeal
• Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Order on Stay of Preliminary Injunction

Counsel: Bradley Berstein Sands LLP | Jacobson Lawyers Group | Democracy Forward Foundation | Protect Democracy

Contact: Darin M. Sands (dsands@bradleybernstein.com) | Daniel F. Jacobson (dan@jacobsonlawyersgroup.com) | Anna L. Deffebach (adeffebach@democracyforward.org)