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Dem Rep. Arrested at White House Immigration Protest

Gutiérrez on March 6, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois.
August 15, 2017

Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D., Ill.) was one of approximately 30 protesters arrested Tuesday in front of the White House during a pro-immigration rally.

Gutiérrez was arrested when he and others sat on the White House sidewalk as a form of protest, the Hill reports. The rally was in commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program implemented under the Obama administration.

Gutiérrez and his fellow protesters were escorted away by U.S. Park Police, according to a Gutiérrez spokesman, and taken to their headquarters in Anacostia Park.

"The same values that I inculcated in my daughters, that my wife and I raised them, [Dreamers] are an example and exemplify them. Their dreams are just like my kids' dreams," Gutiérrez told The Hill shortly before being arrested.

This is Gutiérrez's third time being arrested outside the White House. He was similarly arrested in 2010 and 2011 at immigration-related protests.

The congressman was also arrested in March at a Chicago protest of an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency headquarters.

DACA's on-going implementation is an open question. A coalition of 10 states have said that they will bring suit against the federal government unless the Trump administration ends the program. Neither the White House nor the Department of Justice have commented on the administration's plans as regards DACA.

Gutiérrez has attracted criticism for his handling of his campaign funds. Specifically, he has paid his wife tens of thousands of dollars to his wife from his campaign war chest—more than $400,000 in 2017.

Published under: Democrats , Immigration