The statement added: “We understand not everyone will agree with this form of protest, but we do this as a last resort: Thousands are locked in detention centers, over 60,000 who came here for asylum were sent back to Mexico under MPP, and they’re gutting over refugee programs. This is a humanitarian crisis.”

Several immigrant rights organizations, including RAICES, had earlier in the day released an open letter to Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee, arguing that the issue of immigration had been ignored during recent debates.

“We write to raise serious concerns about the lack of debate about immigrant rights during Democratic debates and to request in the strongest possible terms that all candidates detail with far greater emphasis how they will confront and overcome the unrestrained xenophobia and domestic human rights crisis unleashed by Donald Trump,” the letter said.

It was signed by six organizations that have taken the positions that refugees and asylum seekers have been mistreated and that immigrants should have access to health care.

Just before the outburst, an immigration activist associated with one of the groups tweeted: “For this issue they ran out of time? When it comes to immigration they ignored it for 3 debates, leave it last for this one and run out of time?”