ICE Agents Return to Work in Portland As Occupy Camp Continues Outside

Normal operations resume Tuesday. The federal building had been shut down for more than a week.

Federal police guard the ICE building on June 28 after a morning raid to remove protesters. (Sam Gehrke)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have returned to work at the ICE offices on SW Macadam Ave in Portland after a protest camp shut the federal building down more than a week ago.

The Occupy ICE camp blocked entrances and exits to the building, forcing uniformed Department of Homeland Security police to escort employees out. ICE announced it was temporarily halting its operations at the location on June 20 and for days the building sat vacant.

On June 28, DHS police in riot gear started to clear the camp so that it did not obscure the entrance or driveways to the building.

Today, ICE agents returned to work. Appointments scheduled for July 2 have been cancelled, but regular appointments will resume Tuesday, an ICE spokeswoman said in a statement. The office will be closed for the July 4 holiday.

"Canceled appointments will not be counted as missed check-ins," a spokeswoman said. "ICE deportation officers will contact individuals whose appointments were canceled due to the ongoing protests by phone or mail to report to the office on an alternate date. Individuals who had canceled appointments should not report to the office this week unless instructed to do so."

The Occupy ICE camp still lines the sides of the federal building. A DHS spokesman characterized the protest as "very very peaceful," even as officers tore down parts of the camp. Organizers have said they intend to keep the camp running until ICE is no longer in Portland.

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