House Democrats Arrested Over Immigration Reform Bill Explain The Protest

The House Democrats arrested over immigration reform have been released and now these eight politicians are explaining why they broke the law by protesting.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the eight House Democrats arrested in Washington D.C. were blocking a main roadway.

Police arrested the eight House Democrats along with 192 other people for “crowding, obstructing, and incommoding.” Just arresting such a large number of people during the immigration reform rally took about two hours.

Names were not immediately released but the eight House Democrats arrested were recognized as Democratic Representatives John Lewis of Georgia, Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois, Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Joseph Crowley of New York, Charles Rangel of New York, Al Green of Texas, and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois.

The politicians said the experience was “quite uncomfortable” since both men and women wore plastic handcuffs and were separated out into vans. After being photographed at the police station, the eight Democrats were held in police custody for three hours and released after paying a $50 fine.

Jan Schakowsky says the House Democrats expected to be arrested:

“They do tell us three times that we need to move or we will be arrested, but that was anticipated. The important thing was to, and is to, draw attention to the growing momentum in favor of comprehensive immigration reform.”

House Democrat Joseph Crowley was actually protesting how the immigration reform bill was stalled because of Irish immigrants in his political district. Besides the illegal immigrants from Mexico, there are an estimated 50,000 Irish citizens who have illegally entered the United States.

Before being arrested, Joseph Crowly said, “I am proud to be standing with my colleagues and dedicated advocates, we are helping to give voice to those who would otherwise have none.”

Republican senator Jeff Sessions does not agree with the House Democrats arrested over immigration reform:

“There’s something odd about House leaders…protesting on the Mall to get jobs for illegal aliens and pushing legislation to reduce job opportunities for US citizens. The House must resist calls to replace struggling workers and instead fight for the public interest and to restore our shrinking middle class.”

Do you agree or disagree with the eight House Democrats arrested over immigration reform?