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Faith leaders block garage during protest outside ICE Philadelphia office

Demonstrators blocked the Philadelphia ICE field office garage for about 90 minutes Tuesday morning, and called on more people to disrupt the agency's enforcement in the city.

A crowd of about 30 people gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office at 8th and Cherry streets starting at 8 a.m. No ICE Philly, which organized the protest, said clergy and faith leaders were holding the vigil to keep ICE from "leaving the facility to terrorize our neighbors."

Rev. Hannah Capaldi of the Unitarian Society of Germantown accused ICE of "terrorizing" Philadelphia's immigrant community, and called on more protesters to help block the garage.

"We need more people every day willing to do this, to stand between the vehicles and the work they're doing to kidnap our neighbors," Rev. Capaldi said.

Around 9:30 a.m., police helped one vehicle back out of the garage. Officers used bikes to separate protesters from the car, which drove away without any incident.

The protest cleared out shortly afterward.

CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to ICE and the local Philadelphia office for comment on Tuesday's protest.

Earlier this month, demonstrators marched in Center City, and Democratic state Sen. Art Haywood led a vigil outside the Philadelphia ICE office in response to the deadly shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Several communities outside Philadelphia have recently passed measures limiting their partnerships with ICE. Haverford Township commissioners voted to bar local police from assisting federal immigration agents in enforcing civil immigration laws, and newly sworn-in Bucks County Sheriff Danny Ceisler terminated the department's agreement with ICE.

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