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PORTLAND, Ore. — <\/span>A federal judge in Oregon on Friday limited federal officers\u2019 use of tear gas during protests at a Portland federal immigration building, as part of a lawsuit filed by an adjacent affordable housing complex following months of repeated exposure.<\/p>\n U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio issued the preliminary injunction after a hearing last month<\/a> in which the complex\u2019s residents described physical and psychological symptoms ranging from difficulty breathing, coughing, burning eyes and hives to anxiety and panic attacks. Some also testified about wearing gas masks in their own homes.<\/p>\n The case comes amid growing concern over federal officers using aggressive crowd-control tactics<\/a>, as cities across the country have seen demonstrations against the immigration enforcement surge spearheaded by President Donald Trump\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n In her opinion, Baggio said the case was not about the rights of protesters, but rather about allegations from the residents of the Gray\u2019s Landing apartment building that federal officers\u2019 use of chemical munitions during protests \u201chas been so excessive \u2014 so enveloping \u2014 that it violates Plaintiffs\u2019 rights.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Court recognizes a preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy, but this is an extraordinary case,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n Her order restricts agents from using chemical munitions in quantities likely to reach Gray\u2019s Landing, which is catty-corner from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, unless needed to respond to an imminent threat to life.<\/p>\n A federal judge in a separate Oregon lawsuit, filed by the ACLU of Oregon on behalf of protesters and freelance journalists, previously issued a temporary restraining order limiting agents\u2019 use of tear gas<\/a> during protests at the building and is also considering whether to grant a preliminary injunction in that case. <\/p>\n The property manager of the apartment building and several tenants filed the suit against the federal government in December, arguing that the use of chemical munitions has violated residents\u2019 rights to life, liberty and property by sickening them, contaminating their apartments and confining them inside. <\/p>\n \u201cThis decision protects basic health and safety and the right to live in one\u2019s home without fear of chemical weapons being used by the government,\u201d Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, a legal nonprofit representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement Friday. \u201cResidents should not be harmed simply because they live next to a site of public protest.\u201d<\/p>\n The defendants, which include ICE and the Department of Homeland Security and their respective heads, say officers have deployed crowd-control devices in response to violent protests at Portland’s ICE facility, which has been the site of demonstrations<\/a> for months. <\/p>\n ICE and DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.<\/p>\n