Protesters confront Mitch McConnell over immigration on Bardstown Road

Darcy Costello | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption People confront Mitch McConnell in Louisville yelling 'Vote you out' People follow Mitch McConnell back to his car yelling "Vote you out."

A group of protesters confronted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Bardstown Road in Louisville Saturday, calling out "Abolish ICE," before adding they know where he lives.

McConnell was out to lunch with Kentucky's outgoing House Majority Floor Leader Jonathan Shell, who was upset in his May primary. Shell confirmed the two had lunch, calling the protesters "a small group of extremists."

The interaction was captured on video and shared with Courier Journal.

In it, someone asks McConnell, "Where are the children? Where are the babies, Mitch?" — an apparent reference to the separation of children from families at the southern U.S. border.

"What are you doing to get the babies back?" someone asks in the clip.

McConnell, wearing a green shirt tucked into blue jeans, isn't shown reacting or responding to the protesters. He walks past a sign for Bristol Bar & Grille, turns a corner and gets into a vehicle.

Previously: Protesters confront Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao at Georgetown

Before he gets into the car, someone can be heard saying, "We know where you live."

Shell called the remark a "not-so-subtle threat right out of the Maxine Waters playbook," adding that it was "very distasteful."

Maxine Waters is a U.S. House Democrat from California who has made headlines calling for activists to confront White House officials on their immigration policies whenever possible. Her remarks prompted backlash from President Donald Trump, as well as some members of her own party's leadership.

A McConnell spokesman declined to comment.

A large rally against Immigration and Customs Enforcement took place in downtown Louisville on Saturday morning, as protesters showed support for an ongoing Occupy ICE Louisville demonstration.

McConnell has praised Trump's executive order unraveling the administration's practice of separating immigrant children from their parents at the border when he signed it late last month.

"I'm glad the president took this step," McConnell said in a statement. "... I hope the federal courts reconsider the decision that limits an administration's ability to keep families together while their immigration status is being determined."

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The administration, though, has said it may miss a deadline to reunite nearly 3,000 children separated from their parents by the end of the month. The government says it's struggling to complete the process of verifying relationships, locating parents and ensuring they are safe caregivers.

A few weeks ago, McConnell and his wife were confronted by protesters over immigration as they left a dinner at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.

One protester, just inches from Chao, repeatedly shouted, "How do you sleep at night?" Another asked McConnell why he was separating families, to which Chao said, "He's not."

Chao also pointed her finger at the protesters, saying several times, "You leave my husband alone. Leave my husband alone."

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey contributed to this report. Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/darcyc.