protesters

Silent protesters staged demonstration during a press conference Monday hosted by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler. The lawmaker said protesters had no right to be present.

(Ivey DeJesus/PennLive)

Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, on Monday said a group of demonstrators who staged a protest during his press conference on illegal immigration had no right to be present.

During a post-event interview Metcalfe objected to the characterization that the protesters, who for the most part remained silent during the event, were "silent protesters."

"They weren't silent protesters," he said. "They were protesters here disrupting a scheduled event in the Media Center where they were not even allowed to be in the nature that they were here but we allowed them to remain."

The press conference was held at the Media Center at the state Capitol.

A representative from the General Services Office said members of the public are typically welcomed at press events in the center except when press events are specifically deemed open only to credentialed media. In those cases, anyone wishing to gain entrance must show his or her media credentials at the door. No such check was carried out at Monday's press conference.

Metcalfe called the press conference to roll out a legislative package of bills aimed at curbing what he termed "illegal alien invasion." Metcalfe said the Commonwealth had a new opportunity, given that there was "a new sheriff" in the White House.

Legislation introduced would target businesses and state entities that hired undocumented immigrants; and would require employers to use a federal database to verify the Social Security numbers of prospective employees.

About two dozen protesters attended the press conference, carrying posters calling out hate, a border wall and other issues tied to the illegal immigration debate. The demonstrators largely remained silent throughout the event, standing up at one point in the middle of the press conference. At one point they left their seats to stand against a wall, their posters in their hands.

The demonstrators broke their silence every time Metcalfe and other speakers used the term "illegal alien," calling out in response to the term with "humans." Towards the end of the press conference, they walked out in a single-file line to the front of the room and stood facing the audience (mostly media), their backs to the lawmakers up on the stage.

The protestors represented a handful of different groups, including Tuesdays with Toomey, Rise Up York, REAL Citizens of Pennsylvania and CASA.

Elizabeth Alex, the regional director of CASA, said she frequently attends press conferences in the Media Center as a member of the public and has never been told that she had no right to be there.

"We didn't consider this something different," she said. "We were there exercising our First Amendment rights."

Alex said that she was disappointed that neither Metcalfe nor other lawmakers opened the press conference up for questions. Media also was not given an opportunity to ask questions.

"We would have liked an opportunity to address some of the misinformation that Representative Metcalfe and his colleagues were distributing to the press."