Members of an open-borders group of young activists [occupied] the Rayburn House Office Building Friday afternoon for a protest in support of amnesty for illegal immigrants. As America’s southern border continues to be bombarded by lawbreakers from other countries, many extremists in the U.S. continue to support measures that would effectively nullify the nation’s immigration laws.
The group, United We Dream, organized the protest in an apparent attempt to convince legislators from specific states that amnesty is the only way to deal with America’s current immigration problem.
Calling the Republican defense of the rule of law “harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric,” The Hill reports that this group is set to target lawmakers from the following 12 states: Arizona, California, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Washington, and Virginia.
Outside Rep. Issa's office "we are here to fight, like we did for DACA, but now for our families." #WeCantWait pic.twitter.com/R39Zlo9aVs
— UnitedWeDream.org (@UNITEDWEDREAM) June 27, 2014
One of the proposed changes the group wants to see involves allowing parents to join the illegal children the Obama administration has asserted should be allowed to remain in the U.S. That program has already led to an influx of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, overcrowding holding facilities with potentially sick and/or violent young criminals.
The official number of kids who have already made their way into America on their own so far in 2014 is more than 52,000. Of course, any accurate count of border-crossers is inherently difficult to attain.
Republicans have long held that a discussion of amnesty should be secondary to a diligent effort to reinforce the border to prevent the constant flow of illegals into the country.
It is unclear which congressmen the group plans to target; however, reports show that members opposed specifically Republican representatives. In any case, protesters are unlikely to find any representatives in their office today as the Independence Day recess has just begun.
Photo Credit: Twitter/@UNITEDWEDREAM
BCN editor’s note: This article first appeared at Western Journalism.