Rep. Gutiérrez Arrested at White House Immigration Protest

Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) and about 30 other protesters were arrested Tuesday outside the White House during a rally commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Congressman Luis Gutierrez

Gutiérrez, a vocal advocate for immigrant rights, was arrested after he and other protesters sat on the White House sidewalk. The rally was being held at Lafayette Square across Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Gutiérrez has been arrested outside the White House twice before, in 2010 and 2011, in similar protests. He was also arrested at a Chicago Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in March, where he was protesting deportations of DACA program recipients, commonly known as “Dreamers.”

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The Lafayette Square rally was commemorating DACA’s fifth anniversary and comes as the program faces a critical deadline. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is leading a coalition of 10 states that have pledged to contest the program’s legality unless Trump rescinds it by Sept. 5.

The White House and the Justice Department have not said if they will defend the Obama-era program in court.

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