Portland mayor reverses support for #OccupyIce protest -- tells protestors to 'peacefully disengage' or face police sweeps

The mayor of Portland, Oregon has reversed course in his hands-off stance toward the city's large #OccupyIce protest, the Oregonian reports.

The protest has effectively shut-down the city's Immigration and Customs Enforcement office as upwards of 200 people have slept in tents on the grounds and blocked the entrance.

Mayor Ted Wheeler had voiced support in the wake of the Trump administration's decision to take children away from their parents and lock them up in separate facilities, saying that he "did not want" Portland police to "be engaged or sucked into" the conflict.

Many of the children are still locked up away from their parents, but Wheeler has lost patience and now says he will ask the police to sweep the protest. Wheeler cited the fact that right-wing agitators have targeted the camps and he's worried it could be an explosive situation.

"We're concerned about that kind of activity bleeding over to more concerning situations," Wheeler said. "It's time to move onto the second phrase of this -- to a more sustainable front that focuses on immigration policy over the next months and years."