Posted on September 19, 2017

Democratic Lawmakers Arrested Outside Trump Tower

Washington Post, Ed O'Keefe, Washington Post, September 19, 2017

Three Democratic congressmen were arrested Tuesday outside Trump Tower in New York as part of a protest of President Trump’s decision to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants.

Reps. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) and Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) were among at least 10 people arrested, according to a Gutiérrez spokesman.

Those arrested also included New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who is Puerto Rican and widely considered among New York political observers to be a future mayoral or congressional candidate.

“We’re taking the necessary steps to make it clear to President Trump, the Republicans and the Democrats that we will continue this peaceful fight for DREAMers and immigrants as long as it takes to enact legislation and put DREAMers in a safe place,” Gutiérrez said in a statement provided by his spokesman after the arrest.

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Gutiérrez is among the most emotional advocates for comprehensive immigration reform and has been a strident critic of Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

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The protest Tuesday outside Trump’s home was organized by Make The Road New York, a progressive, immigrants’ rights group.

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