Up to 30 people have been arrested in violent clashes between police and protesters in Philadelphia.

Demonstrators taking to the streets to protest at President Trump's immigration policy were met with brutal resistance from officers as they attempted to block the garage doors outside the city's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center.

Protesters were pictured locking arms in front of the doors as cops desperately tried to shift them following a whole day of peaceful protests.

The demonstrations had gone ahead peacefully for 16 hours on Tuesday until police decided to try and reopen the ICE center.

Distressing photos emerging from the protests show police officers hauling those who resisted away and forcing them into handcuffs as tensions reached fever pitch among the gathered crowd.

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A man is held down by several police officers after trying to block the loading dock of the ICE center

A woman screams in agony as several officers place her under arrest during the protests

Police grapple with a woman and a man who scream as they are torn away from the entrance of the ICE center

A group of demonstrators could earlier be seen linking arms in front of the ICE center's garage

Dozens of counter-terrorism officers were in attendance as they dealt with the enraged protesters

Footage posted on social media also showed a team of officers wrestling a struggling protester to the floor as they attempted to put him in cuffs.

Other demonstrators can be seen trying to drag him free of the cops' clutches but helmet-wearing policemen beat them back using their bicycles.

Those arrested were said to have received citations and were released, while two people sustained minor injuries during the arrests.

Nationwide protests were staged over the weekend calling for ICE, a post 9/11 creation, to be dismantled.

In Philadelphia in particular campaigners are calling for the Berks County Residential Center to be close amid questions about its treatment of immigrant families.

A spokesman for ICE told NBC10: 'The agency continues to conduct enforcement actions every day around the country, including Pennsylvania, as part of the agency's ongoing efforts to uphold public safety and border security.

'ICE's enforcement actions are targeted and lead driven. ICE does not conduct sweeps or raids that target aliens indiscriminately. ICE does not conduct targeted enforcement actions as retribution.'

In footage posted on social media, bicycle cops could be seen hurling protesters to the ground

A police officer appears to strike a protester on the back of the head as he attempts to clear the area in front of the ICE center

Protesters sit on the ground in defiance as a team off law enforcement officers try to shift them

A woman leans her head on the shoulder of another protester as police try and haul them away from a sit-in

Cops tackle an enormous blue umbrella as they move towards the ICE building in central Philadelphia

As the ICE marches gathered pace on Saturday morning, President Trump took to Twitter to praise ICE and its agents.

In a pair of tweets at around 7am, the president said he had 'watched' ICE 'liberate' entire towns from gangs and said they were responsible for 'eradicating the worst criminal elements'.

'To the great and brave men and women of ICE, do not worry or lose your spirit. You are doing a fantastic job of keeping us safe by eradicating the worst criminal elements.

'So brave! The radical left Dems want you out. Next it will be all police. Zero chance, It will never happen!' he said.

In his first tweet, he fumed: 'The Democrats are making a strong push to abolish ICE, one of the smartest, toughest and most spirited law enforcement groups of men and women that I have ever seen.

'I have watched ICE liberate towns from the grasp of MS-13 & clean out the toughest of situations. They are great!'

A demonstrator wearing an 'end racism' t-shirt confronts an officer who is trying to shuffle him along

Police officers put up barriers and secured them after they eventually managed to clear the protesters

The demonstrations largely went off peacefully on Tuesday as people waved banners and held placards for hours

In the morning of the protests on Tuesday protesters built a small encampment outside the ICE building with placards