Immigration Activists Chain Themselves to White House Gates

Eight undocumented immigrants chained themselves to White House gates Wednesday to protest deportations of immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally but were hoping to be legalized

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David Ake / Associated Press

An protester demonstrating against the U.S. immigration policy is arrested after handcuffing himself to the fence in front of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013.

Updated: 3:52 p.m.

Seven undocumented immigrants chained themselves to White House gates Wednesday to protest deportations of immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally but were hoping to be legalized. The protesters were arrested and later released, according to B. Loewe, an activist with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, which organized the event.

The demonstrators called on President Barack Obama to end the deportations, even as Congress continues to consider immigration reform. The Senate passed a bill in July that would revamp the legal immigration system, but the House has not yet passed a bill addressing the status of undocumented immigrants.

“When you talk to people whose lives hang in the balance every day, they can’t wait,” an activist behind Wednesday’s protest told USA Today (note: USA Today initially reported incorrectly that eight protesters had chained themselves to the gates, not seven).

[USA Today]