WASHINGTON – Protesters heckled US homeland security chief Kirstjen Nielsenas she dined at a Washington restaurant late Tuesday, chanting ‘shame!’repeatedly at the woman who has become the front-line defender of the Trumpadministration’s widely condemned practice of separating migrant childrenfrom their parents.
Activists from Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America confronted Nielsenat MXDC Cocina Mexicana restaurant and attempted to disrupt her dinnerwhile she was surrounded by staff and security.
The organisation said police were called and tried to detain the activists”to no avail.”
“How can you enjoy a Mexican dinner as you’re deporting, imprisoning tensof thousands of people who come here seeking asylum in the United States?”one of the activists cried out in a 10-minute video the group posted onsocial media.
“We call on you to end family separation and apologise.”
Another protester remarked: “In a Mexican restaurant, of all places!”
Nielsen’s spokesman Tyler Houlton acknowledged the confrontation,presenting it as “a small group of protesters who share her concern withour current immigration laws that have created a crisis on our southernborder.”
“The secretary encourages all — including this group — who want to see animmigration system that works, that contributes to our economy, thatprotects our security and that reflects our values to reach out to membersof Congress and seek their support to close the terrible immigrationloopholes that have made our system a mess,” Houlton said in a statement.
“The secretary has been working with members of Congress for months insearch of a solution and she will continue to do so this week.”
In the video, Nielsen is seen in a corner of the restaurant, her headlowered as the protesters chanted repeatedly “Shame!”
“If kids don´t eat in peace, you don´t eat in peace. Not in DC, not in theUS!” they added.
“Boo! Shame on Nielsen, shame on Trump!”
*’Nothing compared to horrors’*
Margaret McLaughlin, a member of the activist group, said in a statementthat “while Secretary Nielsen’s dinner may have been ruined, it is nothingcompared to the horrors she has inflicted on innocent families.”
Defending Nielsen on Twitter, President Donald Trump said she “did afabulous job yesterday at the press conference explaining security at theborder and for our country, while at the same time recommending changes toobsolete & nasty laws, which force family separation. We want ´heart´ andsecurity in America!”
Trump’s own wife, First Lady Melania Trump, said over the weekend that shehates to see families separated — although she stopped short ofcriticizing her husband´s policies.
Instead of commenting on the crisis, she took to Twitter on Tuesday torelish in having “enjoyed tea and time together focusing on the ways we canpositively impact children” during a visit from Spain´s king and queen.
Heartbreaking images and audio of children separated from their parents andcrying for their loved ones while being held in chain-link fence cages haveshocked and stocked outrage across the political spectrum in the UnitedStates and abroad.
There have been growing calls for Nielsen to resign in the face of theimmigration crisis and Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy. – APP/AFP