US police arrest 575 at Washington rally against Trump’s zero-tolerance policy

Demonstrators calling for “an end to family detention” and in opposition to the immigration policies of the Trump administration, rally at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. June 29, 2018. (Reuters Phot

As protests flare across the United States over the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy, 575 protesters, including a Democratic congresswoman, were arrested at a rally in the capital Washington, D.C.

Hundreds of people gathered Thursday at a Senate office building to protest the Trump administration’s now-rescinded policy of separating migrant families at the southern border. The protests offered a glimpse of what might happen on Saturday when rallies are planned coast to coast.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state tweeted Thursday that she was proud to be arrested to protest the policy.

She and other protesters were charged with unlawful demonstration, a charge that includes crowding or obstructing others in a public place.

Jayapal says she and other protesters were “here to fight for our families to be free, to fight for the ability of our kids to be with their parents — not in cages, not in prison, but able to live their lives free, safe and secure.”

Many protesters in the atrium of the Hart Senate building wore foil blankets similar to those given to migrants housed at U.S. detention facilities.

Protesters loudly chanted “What do we want? Free families” and “This is what democracy looks like.”

Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York joined with the protesters and pumped their fists. At one point, Merkley donned a foil sheet as he gave a TV interview.

Winnie Wong, political adviser for the liberal National Women’s March, said the protest would translate into “the energy we will need to see to at the ballot box in November.”

Police say those who were arrested were processed on the scene and released.

At another rally outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Oregon, authorities detain and later released seven demonstrators.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon says the demonstrators were taken into custody for failing to comply with directions given by law enforcement officers and blocking entrances to the building.

The alleged violation is a misdemeanor, and all were ordered to appear in court Sept. 7.

An eighth person was temporarily detained, but released with being charged.

Federal law enforcement officers swept protesters from the area Thursday morning in an effort to reopen the building that’s been closed because of safety concerns.

Activists upset with Trump administration immigration policy had been occupying the property since June 17.

In South Texas, hundreds of people gathered outside a federal courthouse in protest over the policy.

Thursday’s rally organized by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups drew busloads of people to the courthouse in Brownsville where judges hear immigration cases involving those who are seeking asylum or have entered the country illegally.

Many held placards with slogans like “First we march then we vote” and “Families belong together.”

The rally comes two days after a federal judge ordered the government to reunite more than 2,000 immigrant children with their families within 30 days, or 14 days for those younger than five.

An Health and Human Services spokesperson said Thursday the department has 11,869 children in its care currently. That’s about 70 more children than HHS officials reported on Wednesday of last week.

The numbers show that there doesn’t appear to be much progress reuniting children separated from their parents despite the court order.

Most of the children arrived at the southwest border unaccompanied, a recurring migration problem year after year.

The latest HHS numbers don’t provide a breakdown of the children separated from their parents as a result of the zero tolerance policy.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar told lawmakers this Tuesday that number was 2,047.

Source:Dailysabah.com