Federal forces are to leave Portland in a change of stance by the Trump administration which sent in the officers at the start of the month.

The agents will leave the city from Thursday with city law enforcement taking over the protection of the courthouse which has been a focal point for protesters.

Oregon’s governor Kate Brown said she negotiated the departure with vice president Mike Pence.

“These federal officers have acted as an occupying force, refused accountability, and brought violence and strife to our community," she said.

She also tweeted: "Starting tomorrow, all Customs and Border Protection & ICE officers will leave downtown Portland."

Howevver, President Trump said yesterday: “We’re not leaving until they secure their city. We told the governor, we told the mayor: secure your city.”

The introduction of agents was supposed to calm tensions but has had the opposite affect. For the past few weeks rioting has taken place daily in the city with agents tear gassing protesters.

Officers in camouflage have also been seen taking demonstrators into unmarked vans.

Mayors from 14 cities across the US, including Chicago and Atlanta, have written to the White House to condemn the actions of federal agents in Portland.

They describe the lack of identification and unmarked vans as ‘chilling’ and have accused Trump of sending troops in to cause chaos ‘for political purposes’ in the lead up to the presidential election in November.

“These are tactics we expect from an authoritarian regime – not our democracy," they said.

The protests have taken place daily since the death of George Floyd in May.

And organisations have said the agents’ presence has distracted demonstrators from the reasons they are protesting.

The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People in Portland said the Black Lives Matter protests were being taken over by ‘privileged white people’ pursing other agendas.

Najee Gow, an African American organiser of BLM, walked into the middle of a large group of white people on Tuesday who were taunting agents.

He said they were racist for wanting to fight at the courthouse rather than protest for social justice.

“What are you doing? This is the racist s**t we’re talking about. You don’t push a black agenda and do this."