Protesters, including City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and New York Congressman Adriano Espaillat, were arrested outside of Trump Tower in Midtown on Tuesday. While President Donald Trump participated in United Nations events nearby, protesters called on the president to work with Congress on a version of the DREAM Act that would include immigrant protections and a path to citizenship, and exclude additional border security funding.
Trump recently announced that the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program, which defers deportation for non-citizens who arrive in the US as children, will end. He has tasked the Republican-led Congress to pass replacement immigration regulations by March 2018.
At least five people were arrested shortly before 1 p.m. on Tuesday after sitting down in the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. NYPD officers on the scene quickly announced that those unwilling to leave the street would face arrest. The arrests were made within minutes.
(Scott Heins / Gothamist)
The NYPD did not immediately provide arrest details. An estimated 70 police officers outnumbered protesters at the intersection.
"The Speaker was proud to take part in a national action with Congressional Members from across the country to stand up to President Trump and defend the hundreds of thousands of DREAMERS who help make our country great," said Robin Levine, a spokeswoman for Mark-Viverito.
Chicago Congressman Luis Gutierrez was also arrested, according to organizers with Make The Road New York, as well as Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona.
Reporting by Scott Heins.
