A escalating crackdown by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in Massachusetts has galvanized a growing number of protesters to gather outside the agency's field office to highlight the treatment of those detained, transforming what began as handful of demonstrators in May into crowds of 600.

The growing in protests at the Burlington facility comes as activists claim ICE has detained more than 2,700 people from January through July, a pace they describe as an intensification of enforcement actions across the state.

"From January through July more than 2,700 human beings have been abducted and brought to this hellish facility," an activist told the assembled crowd, many carrying signs demanding an end to deportations.

Julie Gordon is a 76-year-old retired psychiatric social worker who trekked from her home in Natick to Burlington every Wednesday to join fellow protesters over the past 22 weeks.

She stood among protesters lining up the road leading to the ICE facility, holding a sign reading "We the people will never forget the cowards in Congress who kept quiet."

"I'm here to protest the inhumane treatment of immigrants by ICE. They're our neighbors, they're our friends. We're a country of immigrants. And it just horrifies me that our government – in our name, the name of our citizens – is doing this,” Gordon said. “And I've been coming since the beginning of May when there were only five people here. And to see this heartens me because it shows the power of what a few people can do and what we can do if we stand together in unity against injustice."

The Burlington facility, which serves as both a field office and detention center, has become the focal point for Massachusetts residents alarmed by federal immigration enforcement.

The steady escalation of protests – from a handful to hundreds – mirrors growing anxiety about ICE operations throughout the state.

"Today there's probably between five and six hundred people here. Last week when I was here there were almost close to 600 people. And new people keep coming every day, every week. And I think we're coming together to show that ... we're not going to be silent in the face of autocracy. And we're not going be silent in the face of injustice. And Massachusetts has a long history of protecting people's freedoms and we're going to continue to do that no matter what," Gordon said.

The crackdown has united an unlikely coalition.

AP Video shot by Rodrique Ngowi.