More than 50 people pushed strollers through the streets of Newark and gathered in front of the federal building where more than a dozen mothers breastfeed their babies Friday in a "Nurse-in" to protest the Trump administration's treatment of immigrant families.

Carrying a "Families Belong Together" banner, the mothers sat on the ground and nursed their babies in the courtyard in front of the New Jersey headquarters of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

The women and their babies were not disturbed or asked to leave by police or security guards watching the protest. Other protesters, who included other parents, children and activists, chanted "Keep families together" and waved signs.

"Our job is to protect our children," Rabbi Jesse Olitzky, of Congregation Beth El in South Orange, told the crowd. "Our job is not to put them in cages -- to put them in jail."Immigrant kids brought to N.J. shelter

At least 20 immigrant children have arrived in South Jersey in the last month to be housed in a local shelter that has a contract with the federal government. The children include at least three who had been separated from their parents at the border, according to the Center for Family Services in Camden, the agency that oversees the facility.

President Donald Trump signed an order Wednesday stopping his administration's policy of separating children from their parents if they are caught illegally crossing the U.S. border. The policy had prompted protests and outrage around the country.

Congress continues to debate legislation to overhaul the nation's immigration system, including the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy that requires the detention of adults and children caught illegally crossing the border.

The "Nurse in" in Newark was organized by several local groups, including Laid Back Lactation, a breastfeeding consulting group based in Morristown.

"As parents we refuse sit by while the government removes children from their parents at the U.S. border," the organizers said when they announced the event. "We are especially heartbroken and enraged by stories of breastfeeding children being taken from their mothers' embrace."

Melissa Abramson, of South Orange, breastfed her 11-month-old daughter, Evelyn, at the nurse-in.

She said she came because she felt she needed to use her voice to speak for mothers at the border who had their children taken from them, but have no way to speak publicly for themselves.

"We should be welcoming them with open arms. We should be encouraging families to stay together," Abramson said. "To have your child torn from your arms -- children separated from their parents -- it causes irrevocable damage."

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.