Over 500 protesters -including one Democratic lawmaker- were arrested inside the US Capitol this week in protest of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration along the US-Mexico border.
The mass protest took place Thursday in the Hart Senate Office Building; with demonstrators calling for an end to “family separations” and demanding legislators abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The United States Capitol Police confirmed that 575 people -mostly women- were arrested on the premises, including Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
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.
June 30 we’re putting ourselves in the street again.Join us. https://t.co/DdRHeFtTTr pic.twitter.com/P9uK0Z1Zay
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) June 28, 2018
“People across my state of New York, all across the country are furious with this administration’s policy to separate children from their parents,” Sen. Gillibrand said, adding the protests were an “amazing” act of defiance against the Trump administration.
BORDER CHAOS: National Guard Helps Border Patrol ARREST 1,600 More Migrants
Federal authorities and Border Patrol Agents have arrested an additional 1,600 illegal immigrants attempting to enter the United States since President Trump deployed the National Guard to the region just weeks ago.
According to new statistics released by the CBP and Pentagon officials, the troops were able to assist federal authorities in cracking down on illegal border crossings into the US; freeing up agents to focus on human and drug trafficking into the country.
“Those folks are giving us the additional situational awareness in the radio rooms … which are allowing the Border Patrol agents sitting in those areas to go into the field,” said one official.
“As a reminder, these guardsmen are not carrying out law enforcement duties,” he added.
President Trump made national headlines last month when he announced his decision to deploy the National Guard to the US-Mexico border; vowing to crackdown on illegal immigration until his signature border wall is permanently funded.
BORDER CHAOS: DHS Boss Says 80% of Asylum Cases ‘NOT Legitimate’
Approximately 80% of potential asylum cases at the US-Mexico border are not legitimate and don’t meet the appropriate requirements for entry into the United States, said the Director of Homeland Security Wednesday.
DHS Boss Kirstjen Nielsen was speaking with Fox News when she outlined the stunning statistics; adding roughly 20% of asylum seekers are eventually granted resident-status by federal immigration judges.
“The way the system works right now the threshold under law is so low that about 80 percent pass that initial interview, but only 20 percent are granted asylum by a judge, which tells us that 80 percent of that is either just a flat-out fraud or somebody who thinks they can come here because they want a job here,” said Nielsen.
“That’s not asylum. Or ‘I want to reunify with my family.’ That’s not asylum. ‘I just want to come to the United States’ — not asylum. We have legal ways to do that, but it’s not through asylum,” she added.
The Director’s comments come just days after the so-called ‘Migrant Caravan’ of Central American immigrants arrived at the US-Mexico border, with many seeking asylum in the United States.