Portland police Wednesday morning cleared the last remaining protesters from an encampment at the Southwest Portland offices of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

About a dozen protesters had remained at the headquarters in South Waterfront after the camp five weeks ago was created by demonstrators saying they were acting against the immigration policies of the Trump administration.

Police released a statement about 4:30 a.m. saying Portland officers were assisting in cleaning up the Occupy ICE Camp near Southwest Macadam Avenue and Bancroft Street.

The city had warned remaining campers Monday night that they needed to leave or face arrest after Tuesday.

Most occupiers, which at the camp's height numbered in the hundreds, had left over the past few weeks.

Police Wednesday morning taped off the area around the ICE headquarters and closed the intersection. About a dozen protesters initially remained, standing at the intersection of Lowell Street and Moody Avenue. By 6:30 a.m., only about five were still at the scene.

Police said protesters were subject to citation or arrest for charges including trespassing, illegal camping on public property and illegal structures on public property. The police statement said its explosives unit and Portland Fire & Rescue personnel were present as precautions.

Shortly after 6 a.m., Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw held a news conference at the site.

Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw gives an update on the #occupyICEPDX encampment. Posted by The Oregonian on Wednesday, July 25, 2018

She said police have received 76 calls during the encampment and have responded to 41 of them. She also said the roads near the ICE headquarters were needed for access to medical facilities in the area.

Outlaw also said the camp posed fire and biomedical hazards.

"We knew we had to get ahead of it before it spiraled out of control," she said.

Outlaw said after bringing those reasons to Mayor Ted Wheeler, he then "fully supported" clearing the camp of occupiers.

She said no arrests or citations were made and no pepper spray or other less-than-lethal munitions were used. She said police would review one incident in which an officer reported using his baton to push demonstrators from a restricted area.

The occupation began five weeks ago, when protesters set up a makeshift camp at the building and have been there around the clock since. They said their intention is to protest the Trump administration's policy of separating children and parents who are detained after border crossings and seek the abolishment of ICE.

The field office closed for days because protesters blocked its entrances. Several demonstrators were detained and charged with misdemeanors when federal police moved to reopen the building. Protesters carried on, with tensions between their ranks and federal officers flaring up on occasion.

Demonstrations came to a head last week, when members of the right-wing Patriot Prayer group came to the campsite and argued with protesters. Three demonstrators were arrested at the time for crossing police lines and preventing access to the building.

A faction of protesters left voluntarily Monday, Eudaly said. Wheeler encouraged others to follow suit.

Wheeler said he supports protesters' cause, but believes the camp-out demonstration is no longer "sustainable."

"To all demonstrators: I urge you to keep up this effort," Wheeler said. He added that he believes it is time to for protesters to "move on" and focus on changing immigration policy, rather than camping at the ICE field office.

Contract workers began cleaning the campsite shortly before 8 a.m. Their plan is to collect items of "obvious utility and value" left behind. The bureau will store the items, and people can claim any belongings until Sept. 1, 2018 by contacting Pacific Patrol Services at 503-595-3440.

Many of the tents and makeshift wooden walls had been taken down by 10 a.m. as contractors worked to move out the larger items first, including couches and tables.

Piles of belongings were spread around the camp. Hammers, stuffed animals, tuna cans and mattresses were among the vast array of items left behind.

"The Next Revolution: Popular Assemblies and the Promise of Direct Democracy" by Murray Bookchin lay open on the ground next to a single flip-flop. Toilet seats from a compostable toilet station sat a few feet from a filing cabinet labeled with medical supplies.

The action shut down numerous streets as the morning commute began, including:

Bancroft is closed between Macadam and Bond Avenue.

Moody is closed between Bancroft and Lowell.

Bond is closed at Bancroft.

All streets were open by midafternoon.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive