Protesters shut down a New York City ICE office

After five days of protests, an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office in Manhattan suspended some operations, The Daily Beast reported Tuesday.

Protesters set out to establish "a 24/7 presence to occupy this space and call for the abolition of ICE," an activist said, so they began blocking the doors to a facility where ICE processes immigration cases. The New York City office is also functioning as a temporary immigrant detention facility, reports Gothamist.

Starting Thursday, demonstrators began to "Occupy ICE," camping out overnight and covering a loading dock with signs denouncing the agency and its practice of detaining immigrants. After a few days with a nonstop activist presence, the office decided to reduce its operations, telling immigration attorneys that "there will be no cases heard at Varick Street on Monday due to the protests."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Officials said that immigration hearings would continue at the location "as soon as public access to the detention facility is available," but activists say they've been told the suspension is "indefinite." Read more at The Daily Beast.