Appeals court weighs tear gas limits in Portland

What they're saying: Putting restrictions on the government's use of chemical munitions ties the hands of agents who face unpredictable conditions at protests, Brenna Scully, a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice, argued.

• "Chemical irritants are a critical defensive law enforcement tool and limiting the government's ability to use them based on facts and circumstances facing officers irreparably harms the government," Scully said.

The other side: Steven Worth, an attorney representing residents of an apartment complex across the street from the ICE facility, argued that federal officers have used tear gas in situations that were not dangerous.

• Instead, he said, agents have used tear gas to create dangerous conditions, later posting footage of the confrontations on social media.
• "On numerous occasions, the government was not responding to violent protests," Worth said. "The government was creating political propaganda to post on its Instagram accounts."

Catch up quick: Federal agents have periodically used chemical munitions, sometimes on crowds that included children, to dispel protesters at the facility in South Portland since last summer.

• In two lawsuits, journalists, demonstrators and nearby residents challenged federal agents' use of tear gas, saying it represented excessive force and violated their constitutional rights, respectively.

• Two federal district court judges agreed, and in February, restricted the use of chemical munitions to situations in which officers face imminent threats.
• The Trump administration appealed both those rulings and a three-judge panel with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 to pause the restrictions ahead of Tuesday's hearing.

What's next: The panel, made up of two Trump appointees and one judge appointed by former President Biden, did not say when it expected to rule on the cases.