World
12:20, 29-Jun-2018
Over 500 women arrested while protesting border separations at US Capitol
Updated
11:25, 02-Jul-2018
["china"]
Share
Copied
More than 500 women including a member of Congress were arrested Thursday in the US Capitol complex as they protested President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policy that has triggered thousands of family separations at the border with Mexico.
US Capitol Police said 575 people conducting a sit-down protest in the atrium of a Senate office building were charged with unlawfully demonstrating, then processed at the scene and released.
People demonstrate demanding an end to the separation of migrant children from their parents at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on June 28, 2018. /AFP Photo
People demonstrate demanding an end to the separation of migrant children from their parents at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on June 28, 2018. /AFP Photo
Many of those detained were singing and shouting slogans, and were clad in silver, mylar-style emergency blankets similar to those being provided to children in detention centers. House Democrat Pramila Jayapal was among those arrested.
"I was just arrested with 500+ women and @womensmarch to say @realDonaldTrump's cruel zero-tolerance policy will not continue. Not in our country. Not in our name," she said on Twitter.
CGTN screenshot of tweet by House Democrat Pramila Jayapal
CGTN screenshot of tweet by House Democrat Pramila Jayapal
Actress Susan Sarandon said she too was arrested Thursday in Washington, where people had gathered in protest outside the Department of Justice.
"Arrested. Stay strong. Keep fighting. #WomenDisobey," the Hollywood star tweeted.
CGTN screenshot of tweet by actress Susan Sarandon
CGTN screenshot of tweet by actress Susan Sarandon
Protesters in the Hart Senate Office Building unfurled banners that read: "End all detention camps" and "Families belong together in freedom."
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand posted a video of the demonstration, saying the women were protesting "this inhumane policy by the Trump administration to separate families at the border."
Trump and Congress have struggled to resolve a crisis that has seen more than 2,000 children separated from their migrant parents since the administration announced a "zero-tolerance" border policy in early May.
US Capitol Police arrest demonstrators calling for "an end to family detention" and in opposition to the immigration policies of the Trump administration, at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on June 28, 2018. /VCG Photo
US Capitol Police arrest demonstrators calling for "an end to family detention" and in opposition to the immigration policies of the Trump administration, at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on June 28, 2018. /VCG Photo
The policy calls for strict adherence to laws that require that anyone caught crossing illegally be arrested and referred for prosecution.
Trump called a halt to the separations recently following an international outcry and criticism from Democrats as well as some Republicans, but Congress has failed to resolve the crisis, which has dragged on.
Source(s): AFP