If you’re walking by the Willamette River in downtown Portland, you’ll probably pass by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. You’ll also see a crowd of costumed Portlanders standing in front of the building. This isn’t a cosplay convention or a festival; it’s Portland’s unique way of protesting President Donald Trump and his deportation of thousands of immigrants in the US.
Protests at Portland’s ICE facility began in early June 2025, ramping up significantly in size and impact after Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard to Portland, among other US cities, because he says the city is ‘out of control and crazy,’ and that ‘Portland is burning.’
The claim that ‘Portland is burning’ is simply not true. This statement is just blatantly false, as every Portlander can confidently say that their city is not currently in ashes. However, as flawed as Trump’s stories may be, it’s not possible to simply deny and move on from threats of the National Guard invading the city.
Instead of giving up or forming your typical protest marches, the people of Portland turned to something a little more creative – their local costume shops.
Since late Aug. 2025, the ICE building has been visited every day by nearly hundreds of protesters, donning inflatable costumes and silly outfits. Their presence at the facility has made national headlines, influenced by a few viral videos from the protests. A particularly famous TikTok shows Seth Todd, dubbed ‘The Portland Frog,’ being attacked with pepper spray by a federal agent through the air vent in his blow-up frog costume.
“I’ve definitely had spicier tamales,” Todd said in an interview with “The Oregonian” while referencing the incident, but just because he wasn’t harmed doesn’t escape the fact that it was a potentially dangerous and undeserved act of violence.
Another popular internet clip is of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem standing on the roof of the ICE facility, looking down at protesters in the street. The video was clearly meant to come across as brave and daring, but the imposing message was slightly offset by a protester in a chicken costume on the street in clear view. This was Jack Dickinson, also known as ‘The Portland Chicken’. Both he and ‘The Portland Frog’ are the faces of the battle against ICE, sparking a national trend of protesting in inflatable wear that has even spread to other countries.
On Oct. 18, thousands of Portland citizens took to the streets of downtown for the second “No Kings Protest” of the year. People were dressed in every type of getup and inflatable costume imaginable, and those who weren’t in a special outfit held signs protesting the government. This march exhibited the inflatable costumes as a symbol of peace and equality, becoming a trademark of the protests against ICE and Trump.
Peaceful marches, like the No Kings Protest, allowed everyone the creativity to express their political views in a welcoming environment.
“[My family] has been partaking and making signs for the No Kings Protest, and I’ve been pretty openly critical of ICE and the way they are exerting their power,” says Max Trezise, a history teacher at Ida B. Wells. “I think that Portland is a place where people from all walks of life can feel safe from judgment or persecution—and I think that shines through when we use our freedom of speech.”
Another large protest was the Emergency Naked Bike Ride that took place on Oct. 12, during a pouring rainstorm. Organized Naked Bike Rides typically take place at least once a year in Portland, but this ‘emergency’ ride was organized only a week beforehand to speak out against injustice.
Despite the freezing weather, over a thousand supporters participated in the event, even staging a die-in where everyone lay on Burnside Bridge before continuing on the route. An Emergency Naked Bike Ride may seem weird or strange to outsiders, but it represents the unique and creative ways that Portlanders find to show their support for causes they believe in.
“It’s almost making fun of the people that are showing up as outsiders to Portland and trying to bully and intimidate us,” says Trezise. “And what does Portland do? We dance, we wear costumes, we ride our bikes naked. It makes me very proud to be a Portlander.”
A lesser-known but equally Portland-ish retaliation towards Trump and ICE was the formation of the “Is Portland Burning?” website, which lets visitors know whether or not Portland is currently “burning”. This website concludes that Portland is, at this moment, not on fire, which will presumably be updated if it ever is.
It’s a mockery of Trump’s false claims, but it’s also a genuine resource to show the actual reality of the city. Dozens of live cams of various landmarks in Portland are located on the website, as well as a fact checker that cites recent news articles.
Even though we can’t control the choices and claims our government makes, Portland’s efforts to fight back against ICE and Trump have positively impacted the world through creative costuming and community engagement. It might not be the most conventional, but it definitely ‘keeps Portland weird’.
