Rep. Pramila Jayapal arrested at Washington DC protest
Jun 28, 2018, 1:52 PM | Updated: 6:47 pm
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash, speaks at an anti-Muslim ban rally outside the Supreme Court April 25, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Congressmember Pramila Jayapal was arrested Thursday at a demonstration in Washington D.C., protesting the Trump administration’s controversial immigration policies.
RELATED: Washington leads 18 state lawsuit against family separation policy
Jayapal said she was arrested along with more than 500 other women at the Hart Senate Building while protesting the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy.
“I’m proud to have been arrested with them, to put myself in the camp of people who believe that the United States of America is better,” Jayapal said in a Twitter video following her arrest. “And as a member of Congress, I refuse to let this president and this administration do what they are doing to children, to parents, to asylum seekers in my name.”
Jayapal represents Washington’s 7th District. In the video, she said that she was “protesting the inhumane and cruel zero tolerance policy of Donald Trump and this administration, the separation of families, the caging of children, the imprisonment of asylum seekers who just seek a better life.”
“This is far beyond politics,” she said. “This is about right and wrong. We have to stand up and put ourselves on the line.”
Pramila Jayapal: More demonstrations June 30
Jayapal told KIRO Radio that Thursday’s event was one of many demonstrations planned to protest the immigration policies. She is calling for more people to join on June 30 when a nationwide event is planned.
“This is a moment of outrage and we need people in the streets,” she said. “And we are just so appreciative that over 400,000 people have signed up to be in the streets, to be in rallies in every single one of our 50 states.”
The Trump administration’s zero tolerance immigration policy has drawn criticism for how it handles asylum seekers and families at the border. Many parents and children have been separated and sent to different detention centers, including in Washington state.
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
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