Protesters chained themselves together in front of a federal immigration services building in San Francisco on Tuesday morning, prompting authorities to shut down the building for the day.

Dozens of religious leaders were taken away in handcuffs after blocking the front doors of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices on Washington Street near the city's Financial District. Protestors blocked the entrance for about five hours, beginning at about 6 a.m. until federal police arrived.

About 150 to 200 protesters massed outside the U.S. Appraisers Building on Washington and Sansome streets, a frequent target for protesters where the ICE offices are housed along with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices. Not everyone at the protest was detained, only those who were blocking the doors with bolt-locked chains, said CBS News Bay Area reporter Kevin Ko, who was at the scene.

Advocacy group Bay Resistance said in a prepared statement that the action was geared toward "stopping ICE from abducting community members at their immigration check-ins."  The group said 42 people were arrested, cited and released.

The San Francisco Fire Department said it responded at about 10 a.m. to a call about persons chained to a property who requested to be peacefully detained.

"In accordance with all Department protocol and in order to ensure the health and safety of the individuals, SFFD assessed the situation and used the proper tools to safely remove the chains," the Fire Department said in a statement.

After the front door was cleared, authorities ended up closing the building anyway; people who were in line for their immigration appointments were all told to go home.

Religious leaders who were protesting said closing the building was the goal of the protest.

"My faith tradition brought me here today. Tradition that teaches me to love the stranger and care for the stranger and to disrupt injustice," said Rabbi Cat Zavis of Beyt Tikkun synagogue in Berkeley. "Our goal is to shut down the building, so we'll be here as long as it takes unless they arrest us before then."

In a statement to CBS News Bay Area, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin characterized the protesters as "rioters" and said they obstructed law enforcement outside the ICE processing center.

"Rioters chained themselves to the building's front gate and doors, impeding law enforcement operations. The San Francisco Fire Department arrived on the scene and assisted in cutting the chains. ICE officers and FPS then arrested 44 of the obstructing rioters, all of whom appear to be U.S. citizens," McLauglin said. "This is a developing situation under an ongoing investigation, and ICE will update as necessary."