Around 200 people – some wearing face coverings – descended on Eastney ferry port in Portsmouth after 140 migrants were brought to shore.
Several vans and cars were reportedly damaged as multiple officers were injured during the chaos which went deep into the night.
Cops guarded coaches parked on a roadside not far from the marina, as protesters blocked the flow of traffic and stopped RNLI teams from accessing the port.
The migrant boat from Normandy which sparked the chaos was thought to have been the longest-ever Channel crossing by people smugglers.
It was intercepted in the Solent between the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth earlier on Sunday.
Portsmouth City Council said the Home Office had “serious questions to answer” over the decision to bring migrants to shore in the area.
Council leader Steve Pitt said the move had caused “needless disruption”.