Life in Portland protest zone: ‘I sleep with a gas mask on’

Tear gas has been fired into her apartment complex, Gray's Landing, located directly across from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland's South Waterfront area.

 For months, the area has been the epicenter of nightly clashes between federal agents and black-clad protesters protesting immigration-related arrests.

 "It's like a war zone," Ms Hammar, 57, says about her street. Several other residents spoke to BBC News about the unrest, which is centred on just one city block, as tensions have boiled over and put the city in the national spotlight.

 "There are times I've had to have a gas mask on inside my own home," she says, demonstrating how she now wears her mask to sleep.

President Donald Trump says he wants to send the National Guard to protect officials and federal buildings. Portland has thus become the latest test of Trump's plan to deploy troops to places—mostly Democratic-run cities—that he says are plagued by crime.

 He said, "Portland is absolutely burning" and plagued by "insurgents everywhere."

But a federal judge disagreed and temporarily blocked Trump's plans for Portland, saying the president appeared to have "overstepped his constitutional authority."

 The city's 635,000 residents have also widely mocked Trump's comments, calling them hyperbolic.

 But for those living in this apartment complex, a fight outside their homes is a daily occurrence, though they disagree on who is responsible for the violence.

 Some building residents blame antifa. Antifa, short for anti-fascism, is a decentralized, left-wing movement that opposes far-right ideologies and has been designated a domestic terrorist group by Trump.

 Neighbors at Gray's Landing, sympathetic to more militant protesters, are allowing them into the building, leading to confrontations in the hallways, residents say.

 And some who have gone out at night have been attacked or threatened, according to footage filmed by Ms. Hammer and shown to BBC News. Her footage shows gunfire and a resident being punched in the face by a protester.

 Mayor Keith Wilson has blamed federal agents for inciting the crowd.

 Wilson has called for an investigation into the actions taken by ICE agents, including the use of pepper spray and impact munitions.

 "This is an aggressive approach that is attempting to inflame an otherwise peaceful situation," Wilson said on Sunday, following another night of tear gas and violent arrests.

 Regardless of who is to blame, the violence has already changed the community.

 According to school officials, Cottonwood School, located next to the ICE building, was relocated in August because "ammunition" was consistently found on the playground.