(CNN) US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has temporarily closed its field office in Portland, Oregon, as protests continue growing outside the facility.

Dozens of people began protesting against the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy outside the office in southwest Portland last week. Some people began putting up tents near the facility's front door and around the building on Sunday and more have joined them since then.

Operations at the facility, including appointments with deportation officers, were suspended Wednesday and will continue until "security concerns have been addressed," the federal agency said in a statement.

Protests outside the ICE office began last week and developed into an occupation on Sunday.

"US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fully respects the rights of all people to voice their opinion without interference," the agency said. "ICE remains committed to immigration enforcement consistent with federal law and agency policy."

Employees had been escorted out of the building by police on Tuesday, CNN affiliate KATU reported.

Read More</s>PORTLAND, Ore. -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement temporarily closed its Southwest Portland office on Wednesday, citing security concerns amid protests.

ICE spokeswoman Carissa Cutrell said appointments scheduled for Wednesday at the office on Southwest Macadam Avenue have been canceled.

"Normal operations will resume once security concerns have been addressed," she said.

Following the announcement, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said he drove by the protests and commended participants on what he said was a peaceful demonstration against an agency "that has not fully lived American values of inclusion."

"I want to be very clear that I do not want the Portland Police to be engaged or sucked into a conflict, particularly from a federal agency that I believe is on the wrong track," he said. "If they are looking for a bailout from this mayor, they are looking in the wrong place."

A group of protesters set up camp outside ICE's Portland headquarters to protest the Trump administration's recent policy of separating families after illegal border crossings.

In an about-face, President Trump announced on Wednesday he planned to issue an executive order to halt family separations at the U.S./Mexico border, which have been taking place for the past two months. NBC News confirmed Trump signed the order just after noon.

More than 2,000 immigrant children have reportedly been separated from their parents.

About two dozen protesters gathered Tuesday for a round-the-clock vigil and vowed not to leave until the policy changed.

The protesters, calling themselves 'Occupy ICE PDX,' have been preventing ICE vehicles entering or leaving the facility.

"It shouldn't be happening, it's unacceptable," Dan McLean told KGW. "I'm getting excited just talking about it. It really gets to me."

On Tuesday, ICE said the Federal Protective Service was called for security reasons, as protesters rallied. One person blocking a car was taken into custody.

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fully respects the rights of all people to voice their opinion without interference. ICE remains committed to immigration enforcement consistent with federal law and agency policy. The Federal Protective Service was called to the ICE office on Macadam Avenue this afternoon due to security concerns resulting from the ongoing protests at this location. Questions regarding arrests that took place should be directed to the Federal Protective Service," ICE said in a statement.

The owner of Fifty Licks Ice Cream parked a truck outside the facility and treated demonstrators to free ice cream.

Elsewhere in Oregon, demonstrators gathered at the Federal Correction Institute in Sheridan, where 123 adult asylum seekers are being held.

Sheridan is about 60 miles southwest of Portland.</s>PORTLAND, Ore. -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement temporarily closed its Southwest Portland office on Wednesday, citing security concerns amid protests.

ICE spokeswoman Carissa Cutrell said appointments scheduled for Wednesday at the office on Southwest Macadam Avenue have been canceled.

"Normal operations will resume once security concerns have been addressed," she said.

A group of protesters have set up camp outside ICE's Portland headquarters to protest the Trump administration's recent policy of separating families after illegal border crossings.

In an about-face, President Trump announced on Wednesday he planned to issue an executive order to halt family separations at the U.S./Mexico border, which have been taking place for the past two months. NBC News confirmed Trump signed the order just after noon.

More than 2,000 immigrant children have reportedly been separated from their parents.

About two dozen protesters gathered Tuesday for a round-the-clock vigil and vowed not to leave until the policy changed.

The protesters, calling themselves 'Occupy ICE PDX,' have been preventing ICE vehicles entering or leaving the facility.

"It shouldn't be happening, it's unacceptable," Dan McLean told KGW. "I'm getting excited just talking about it. It really gets to me."

On Tuesday, ICE said the Federal Protective Service was called for security reasons, as protesters rallied. One person blocking a car was taken into custody.

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fully respects the rights of all people to voice their opinion without interference. ICE remains committed to immigration enforcement consistent with federal law and agency policy. The Federal Protective Service was called to the ICE office on Macadam Avenue this afternoon due to security concerns resulting from the ongoing protests at this location. Questions regarding arrests that took place should be directed to the Federal Protective Service," ICE said in a statement.

The owner of Fifty Licks Ice Cream parked a truck outside the facility and treated demonstrators to free ice cream.

Elsewhere in Oregon, demonstrators gathered at the Federal Correction Institute in Sheridan, where 123 adult asylum seekers are being held.

Sheridan is about 60 miles southwest of Portland.</s>PORTLAND, Ore. -- The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Southwest Portland is closed again on Thursday as a protest outside the building continues.

The office on Southwest Macadam Avenue first closed on Wednesday, citing security concerns. ICE spokeswoman Carissa Cutrell said appointments scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday have been canceled. Deportation officers will contact individuals to reschedule appointments.

"Normal operations will resume once security concerns have been addressed," she said.

A group of protesters, calling themselves 'Occupy ICE PDX,' set up camp outside ICE's Portland headquarters starting on Tuesday to protest the Trump administration's recent policy of separating families after illegal border crossings.

More than 2,300 immigrant children have reportedly been separated from their parents since April. On Wednesday, Trump reversed his own policy and signed an executive order to halt family separations at the U.S./Mexico border. It's unclear when the children who have already been separated from their families will be reunited, if at all.

Occupy ICE PDX is now calling for a national occupation of ICE facilities. Protesters said their end goal is to abolish the federal agency.

"It shouldn't be happening, it's unacceptable," protester Dan McLean told KGW.

The protesters have been preventing ICE vehicles from entering or leaving the facility.

On Tuesday, ICE said the Federal Protective Service was called for security reasons. One person blocking a car was taken into custody.

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fully respects the rights of all people to voice their opinion without interference. ICE remains committed to immigration enforcement consistent with federal law and agency policy. The Federal Protective Service was called to the ICE office on Macadam Avenue this afternoon due to security concerns resulting from the ongoing protests at this location. Questions regarding arrests that took place should be directed to the Federal Protective Service," ICE said in a statement.

The wife of a private contractor who works at the ICE facility in Portland told KGW that protesters were not allowing employees to drive off the facility's parking lots. Federal police had to escort about 20 employees off the property. Portland police told employees the agency would not respond to help due ot the nature of the protest, she said. The woman asked to remain anonymous.

The owner of Fifty Licks Ice Cream parked a truck outside the facility and treated demonstrators to free ice cream.

On Wednesday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said he drove by the protests and commended participants on what he said was a peaceful demonstration against an agency "that has not fully lived American values of inclusion."

"I want to be very clear that I do not want the Portland Police to be engaged or sucked into a conflict, particularly from a federal agency that I believe is on the wrong track," he said. "If they are looking for a bailout from this mayor, they are looking in the wrong place."

Elsewhere in Oregon, demonstrators gathered at the Federal Correction Institute in Sheridan, where 123 adult asylum seekers are being held. Lawyers say they were denied access to the asylum seekers.

Sheridan is about 60 miles southwest of Portland.</s>Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Portland office temporarily shut its doors due to ongoing protests against the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy which leads to children being separated from their parents.

“ICE operations at this location have been temporarily halted due to security concerns,” an ICE spokesman said Wednesday in a statement reported by Oregon Public Radio. “Normal operations will resume once security concerns have been addressed.”

Dozens of protesters have been gathered outside the office since Sunday, holding up signs and banners (some comparing the agency to the Gestapo) and setting up tents in light of the rollout of the new policy, which has meant that every person crossing the border at an unofficial point of entry gets detained. So far, more than 2,300 children have been split up from their parents.

A loud cheer comes after the moments of silence at the end of the vigil at OccupyICEPDX, just in front of the ICE Portland Headquarters in SW Macadam on June 19, 2018, in Portland, Oregon.

“We want the zero-tolerance policy to end. We want children to be released from cages,” Antonio Zamora, a demonstrator, told KATU. The news outlet reported that ICE employees were escorted out of the building by police on Tuesday.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler called the family separation policy “an abomination” and tweeted his support for the protesters, urging the police not to break up the demonstrations.

Meanwhile, local immigration lawyers said Wednesday that at least four children who have been separated from their parents since April have been brought to the Portland area.

Backlash continues to grow as more details ― children are being flown hundreds of miles away from their parents ― continue to be unearthed. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that will prevent family separation going forward, but the “zero tolerance” policy will continue through a massive expansion of detention of both kids and parents.</s>Portland, Oregon - Dozens of protesters have occupied the grounds of the local US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Portland, Oregon to protest the Trump administration's immigration policies, including the separation of thousands of children from their parents at the US-Mexico border.

The group, calling it itself #OccupyICEPDX, set up camp on Sunday, calling for the abolition of ICE and an end to government's "zero tolerance" approach to immigration.

The protesters vowed to remain on Thursday after it successfully shut down the office a day earlier.

Since the camp was erected, up to 400 people have shown up for nightly vigils.

Individuals stand by the road holding signs such as "Everyone is Welcome Here", "Stop Child Abuse - Abolish Ice" and "Close the Trump Concentration Camps".

Roberta, who asked not to use her surname, held a sign reading: "Truth, Freedom, and Justice for all."

She told Al Jazeera: "We've gotten lots of honks and only a few fingers."

#OccupyICEPDX comes amid a widespread outcry over the government's "zero tolerance" approach towards migrants and refugees who cross the US southern border without documents. The approach included a practice of separating children from parents who were held.

After repeatedly saying only legislators could end the controversial tactic, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday, to keep families together. It remains unclear, however, what will happen to the children who have already been separated from their families.

According to the Associated Press, about 500 of the 2,300 children separated have been reunited with their parents, but it was not clear if they remained in detention.

While the executive order ends the separation of families, many fear the practice will only shift to detaining families for long periods of time - a tactic likely to be challenged in the courts.

The scene in Portland is a throwback to the 2011 Occupy Wall Street movement. That movement made income inequality a national issue but it lacked any concrete demands, and it fizzled out within months.

The difference this time is "it's Occupy with a purpose - Abolish ICE," said Amina Rahman, a labour organiser and Portland native .

The camp, which now includes about 50 tents, has a kitchen feeding hundreds, security patrols, media representatives, medical care, a library, a children's area that includes storytelling and care for infants, and nightly entertainment such as a troupe of Aztec dancers.

Locals drive up and unload trays of food and cases of bottled water alongside the three-story ICE building that's surrounded by an eight-foot metal fence and security cameras. A local ice cream shop sent its truck to hand out treats to protesters, and a pizzeria owner hand-delivered a stack of pies.

On Monday evening, as ICE employees in cars tried to leave work, 20 people locked arms and blocked the driveway, according to organiser Jacob Bureros.

The vehicles went back inside the facility and two police officers with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under which ICE operates, tried to negotiate with protesters.

Bureros said police asked the protesters for "reasonable accommodation," explaining that "nine of the employees inside need to go home to their families."

He said protesters started yelling: "What about the families you are holding?"

The ICE facility includes a jail area meant for temporary detention before immigrants are shipped off to long-term holding facilities in the Pacific Northwest.

DHS police threatened to arrest protesters, but has not carried out the threat.

On Tuesday, protesters said about a dozen DHS police arrived and created a area to allow the remaining employees to leave.

Portland police have not been present at the protests.

On Wednesday, Mayor Ted Wheeler stated that he does not want the Portland police "to be engaged or sucked into a conflict, particularly from a federal agency that I believe is on the wrong track."

At the time of publishing, ICE had not responded to Al Jazeera's repeated requests for comment. According to local reports, ICE said it will not resume operations at the Portland office until "there are no longer security concerns resulting from the ongoing protests there."

The 'Occupy ICE' protests have since spread to other cities, with demonstrators setting up camp outside ICE offices in New York, Los Angeles and other places.

"We need to make this a national movement," Jenny Nickolaus told Al Jazeera.

"We are staying here until ICE is abolished or until we are physically removed."</s>ICE Temporarily Closes Portland Office Amid Tumult Of Protests Across U.S.

The regional office for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Portland, Ore., stands quieter than usual. Since Wednesday, the keyboard clatter and quiet murmur of officials working inside have been replaced with an unfamiliar sound, coming muffled through the walls: the chatter of angry campers outside.

And that's precisely the way the demonstrators want it.

Their protest against President Trump's immigration policies began Sunday and by midweek had ballooned, thick with disgruntled residents toting signs, sleeping in tents and rallying crowds with a PA system. Eventually, ICE announced that the situation had become untenable.

ICE "fully respects the rights of all people to voice their opinion without interference. ICE remains committed to immigration enforcement consistent with federal law and agency policy," a spokesperson for the regional office told Dirk VanderHart of member station OPB.

But "operations at this location have been temporarily halted due to security concerns," the spokesperson added. "Normal operations will resume once security concerns have been addressed."

The office remained closed for the same concerns Thursday — announcing the closure with a note that protesters are hurting the migrants they're advocating for, by delaying necessary sessions intended to inform ICE detainees of U.S. immigration law.

The demonstration in Portland, however, is not an exceptional case.

Similar protests have bubbled to the surface outside — and occasionally even inside — ICE offices and detention facilities in Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Francisco and even on Capitol Hill, where an interfaith network of local congregations gathered Thursday morning to denounce the Trump administration's hard-line immigration policy. Dozens of protesters held a series of sermons circling a cluster of children who had lain down on silver blankets.

"The children will symbolically represent the thousands of children separated from families on the border, sleeping on floors and held in cages," the group explained before the action.

In the face of this widespread backlash, Trump appeared to retreat Wednesday from the most controversial element of his "zero-tolerance" policy, the separation of migrant children from their parents along the U.S.-Mexico border.

After repeated denials from administration officials that Trump could end the practice without Congress, Trump signed an order ending the practice without Congress. (Although, as NPR's Richard Gonzales notes, the move raises the possibility of another legal headache and leaves unclear what, exactly, will happen to the more than 2,300 children already separated from their parents.)

House Republican leaders hit some roadblocks of their own Thursday. Of the two bills on immigration policy that they were considering at the start of the day, the more conservative version failed in a floor vote and a vote on the more moderate version was postponed to Friday as leaders sought more support.

In the meantime, Trump vowed Thursday that his administration is "acting swiftly to address the illegal immigration crisis on the southern border."

And protesters are vowing to keep resisting his preferred approach.

"For far too long, we have allowed this evil to continue, and it will not continue any longer," said one of the faith leaders at the Capitol Hill protest Thursday. "We will pray ... we will vote, we will march — we will protest until victory is won."</s>Protesters in San Francisco and other cities descended on the offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to demand an end to the “zero tolerance” policy on the border, comparing the agency to the Nazi Gestapo.

Demonstrators were reacting to reports that illegal aliens who were caught crossing the border with children were being detained and separated from them as the Trump administration ended the practice of “catch-and-release.”

Hundreds of protesters descended on a block of San Francisco’s Financial District on Tuesday to protest the Trump administration’s policy of separating thousands of immigrant children from their parents at the border. Demonstrators, armed with homemade signs and rallying cries, blocked the entrance to the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement field office in San Francisco around 1 p.m., choking the stretch of road on Sansome Street between Jackson and Washington and diverting traffic. Emily Nahmanson, who left her IT job [sic] at a video game console manufacturer to attend the protest, held a sign that read, “ICE = American Gestapo” while noting parallels she sees between the Trump administration and Nazi Germany. “Honestly, there are people who think the Nazis were not wrong,” she said, adding that it was time for people to get off Instagram and start paying attention to the politics around them.

Similar protests were held this week at ICE offices in Portland, Oregon, among other cities.

The Gestapo were the secret police of the Nazi state. They suppressed political dissent and were used to hunt down, deport, and murder Jews. They became notorious for their brutality.

One crucial difference: the Gestapo murdered Jews for being Jews, not for crossing an international border illegally.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.</s>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Portland has been closed for a second day because of a demonstration against Trump administration immigration policies.

Agency spokeswoman Carissa Cutrell says people who had appointments scheduled for Thursday will be contacted by deportation officers to have their meetings rescheduled. The appointments will not be reported as missed check-ins.

Cutrell declined to say how many people work at the Portland office, or if they have been working from home.

The round-the-clock protest began Sunday, with protesters calling for an end to the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy in which all unlawful border crossings are referred for prosecution.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Trump critic, says he does not want city police involved in any effort to end the protest.</s>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland is closed as protests over President Trump’s immigration policies continued.

Protesters told KATU-TV that shutting down ICE is one of their goals, so they considered Wednesday’s closure a win.

The protest began Sunday, with demonstrators calling for an end to the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy in which all unlawful border crossings are referred for prosecution. The protesters also sought an immediate end to the practice of separating children from their families.

Though the facility was open Tuesday, police were called in to make sure employees could leave safely.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement temporarily closes their Portland, Oregon, offices after protesters camping outside the building grow in numbers.