A group of open borders activists blocked and surrounded federal immigration officials in downtown Los Angeles, California on Thursday, preventing the agents from accessing a nearby detention center.

Coordinated by a slew of open borders groups, about 50 illegal immigrant activists stopped a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) van of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while they were on their way to a detention center.

The open borders activists shouted, “Stop the deportations!” and other pro-illegal immigration chants, as captured by Los Angeles Times reporter Marcus Yam.

“Hey hey! Ho ho! Deportations have got to go!” the activists can be heard shouting at ICE agents. Another open borders activists shouted at Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers, saying “F*ck all you n*ggas!”

A single protester is facing off the LAPD despite calls for peace from the other protesters. pic.twitter.com/z39Nes93Zf — Marcus Yam 火 (@yamphoto) February 16, 2018

Activists block an ICE van in downtown LA tonight. More to come. pic.twitter.com/45AJ8qyZJX — Marcus Yam 火 (@yamphoto) February 16, 2018

Around 50 people are gathered around the ICE van near Aliso and Alameda. pic.twitter.com/I85bHC3TUE — Marcus Yam 火 (@yamphoto) February 16, 2018

LAPD issuing a dispersal order but protesters are down the street away from them and it’s barely audible. pic.twitter.com/354w1gONda — Marcus Yam 火 (@yamphoto) February 16, 2018

Here are the photos from tonight's ICE protest. https://t.co/ItIxMbA1UC pic.twitter.com/2wJr4qGVyR — Marcus Yam 火 (@yamphoto) February 16, 2018

Organizers with the open borders groups told the Times that the blocking of the DHS van was to protest the “machinery of deportation.”

“The original goal was to really loudly proclaim that we’re not going to stand for ICE destroying families … on Valentine’s Day of all days,” said Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, who is on the board of an organizing group.

“When the ICE/DHS van came, our group of people decided it was time to put their bodies in front of the machinery of deportation,” he said.

The “open borders” lobby has become increasingly outraged at the lack of immediate amnesty for the 12 to 30 million illegal aliens living across the United States.

Last month, for example, a group of activists with the George Soros-funded group “United We Dream” held a mock funeral where they blasted President Trump and conservatives for “killing our dreams” by not immediately giving them amnesty, as Breitbart News reported.

Critics argue that giving amnesty to 12 to 30 million illegal aliens in the U.S. would have an immediate negative impact on America’s working and middle class — pecifically black Americans and the white working class — who would be in direct competition for blue-collar jobs with the largely low-skilled illegal alien population.

Additionally, under current legal immigration laws, if given amnesty, the illegal alien population would be allowed to bring an unlimited number of their foreign relatives to the U.S. This population could boost already high legal immigration levels to an unprecedented high. An amnesty for illegal aliens would also likely triple the number of border-crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.