World
08:39, 05-Jul-2018
Woman climbs Statue of Liberty to protest immigration policy
Updated
08:06, 08-Jul-2018
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A woman was arrested on Wednesday after climbing New York’s Statue of Liberty to protest President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration policy, prompting a three-hour standoff with police and forcing the evacuation of the famous landmark.
"She's been taken into custody amicably, peacefully, without any injuries, or injuries to our officers, thank God. It's all over now," Sergeant David Somma, a spokesman for the National Park Service, told Reuters after the standoff ended.
He said prosecutors would determine any charges filed against the woman.
The group Rise and Resist stage a protest at the Statue of Liberty in New York, U.S. July 4, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. /VCG Photo
The group Rise and Resist stage a protest at the Statue of Liberty in New York, U.S. July 4, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. /VCG Photo
The protest coincided with July 4 celebrations for Independence Day in the US.
Wearing a "Rise and Resist" T-shirt, the woman, who has not yet been identified, scaled the stone pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, the iconic monument that once greeted immigrants arriving by boat in the United States and is still seen as a beacon of freedom and democracy.
At one point, she told authorities that she would only come down when parents are reunited with all migrant children separated from them by the Trump administration.
The incident forced the Park Service to evacuate Liberty Island, where the Statue is located, on a holiday afternoon when typically thousands of tourists visit the historic landmark.
US Border Patrol agents take Central American asylum seekers into custody near McAllen, Texas, June 12, 2018. /VCG Photo
US Border Patrol agents take Central American asylum seekers into custody near McAllen, Texas, June 12, 2018. /VCG Photo
Earlier in the day, seven people had been arrested for hanging a banner around the base of the 91-meter-high statue that read "Abolish ICE," referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency at the forefront of the immigration debate.
Rise and Resist NYC, which organized that protest, said however the woman was not part of their demonstration.
Wednesday's standoff ended before nightfall, when July 4 fireworks displays were scheduled to begin over New York's East River and off Liberty State Park on the Hudson River.
Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a cornerstone of his administration.
But his “zero-tolerance” policy, which led to pictures of distraught migrant children being separated from their families at the Mexican border, triggered international condemnation.
The policy was abandoned but it is still unclear how and when some 2,000 migrant children will be reunited with their parents, many of whom are fleeing gang violence and turmoil in Central America.
Source(s): AFP
,Reuters