Members of Congress Shut Down Streets Near White House to Protest Family Separation at the Border

By Jorge Rivas  |  June 13, 2018 | 8:05pm
Immigration

On Wednesday, a group of Congress members temporarily blocked an entrance to the Ronald Reagan Building, which houses the U.S. Customs and Border Protection headquarters in Washington, D.C. The group said they were calling for the release of asylum seekers who have been separated from their children.

“Release the asylum seekers and reunite them with their children. End family separation,” tweeted Congresswoman Judy Chu, a Democrat who represents the 27th District in Southern California.

It’s unclear how long the Congress members protested in front of the CBP office but Chu tweeted the group was moving the protest closer to the White House.

Pictures show several members attended the protest, including Chu, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois, Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, Rep. Joe Crowley of New York, Rep. Jimmy Gonzalez from California, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington State.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, who at one point was an undocumented immigrant himself, also appears in the photos.

All the congress members seen in the photos are Democrats.

Around 3:30pm EST, Chu tweeted the Congress members had shut down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Update, Wednesday, 4:19pm EST:

NY1’s Jeevan Vittal is reporting Rep. Joe Crowley collapsed. The congressman’s reps said Crowley felt faint due to possible heat exhaustion.

The protest has been called off for “safety reasons,” according to Vittal.

 
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