Around a dozen women attending a Homeland Security Committee hearing with their young children were escorted out by U.S. Capitol Police after silently protesting migrant family separations that took place under the Trump administration.
The mothers and other women, all seated in the fifth and sixth rows in the committee room, all stood as Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen began her opening remarks.
A police officer then quietly asked the group to walk out of the room.
The women carried babies, infants, and toddlers in their arms. The children were holding small books or cell phones in their hands.
Young children among the silent protesters escorted out of House Homeland Security Committee as DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen starts her opening statement pic.twitter.com/4aZsVpyIRE
— Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) March 6, 2019
The hearing represents the first chance for House Democrats to hold Nielsen’s feet to the fire for the department’s implementation of Trump’s immigration agenda.
Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., first asked on Jan. 4 for Nielsen to appear the Democrat-controlled panel. At the time, Thompson said her return was “long overdue,” as she had appeared before the House committee just once since being confirmed by the Senate in December 2017.
[Also read: February marked 12-year-high for illegal immigration: 76,000 encountered at southern border]
