Dozens of clergy and faith-based activists were arrested on Capitol Hill as they staged a sit-in to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and press for limits on funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), organizers said.
Members of the group Faith in Action gathered inside the Hart Senate Office Building, where they sat on the floor holding banners that read "Do Justice, Love kindness, Abolish ICE." The organizing group said the action took place "in the halls of the U.S. Senate" and accused ICE, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, of "terrorizing" communities.
A U.S. Capitol Police spokesperson said "it is against the law" to demonstrate inside congressional buildings and that 54 demonstrators were arrested.
Video and images from the scene showed officers making arrests while demonstrators remained seated and sang after officers warned them to leave. Visuals captured moments of officers moving through the seated protesters and removing individuals from the room.
Organizers provided a different tally for those detained. The group said Bishop Dwayne Royster, who is the executive director of Faith in Action, was arrested along with more than 60 other faith leaders. The discrepancy between the law enforcement count and the organizers' figure was not reconciled in statements released after the event.
The protest in Washington was part of a wider wave of demonstrations across the United States objecting to the administration's immigration approach, organizers said. Those protests have grown in intensity this month following the killing of two American citizens in Minnesota by federal immigration agents, an event that has spurred calls for change from activists.
Protesters have articulated several demands: restrictions on funding for ICE, greater accountability for agents, and, in some cases, calls to abolish the agency entirely. The Washington action reflects those broader themes, bringing faith leaders into direct confrontation with the rules that govern conduct inside congressional office buildings.
Context and next steps: The demonstration highlights ongoing tensions between advocacy groups pressing for immigration enforcement reform and the institutions that carry out and fund federal immigration operations. Statements from both organizers and law enforcement underscore differing perspectives on the scale and legality of the protest.