As part of a protest involving a number of religious groups, up to 200 priests, nuns and lay people sat ot lay down on the marble floors beneath the rotunda in the Russell senate building. At least 65 were then arrested and taken away by Capitol police.

The protests, which the activists called a “Catholic day of action for detained immigrant children”, was just the latest involving faith groups across the country, which have been holding events to draw attention to the president’s immigration and detention policies.

Non-faith groups have also been holding events about the policies, that have resulted in the splitting up of families, the rewriting of asylum laws to make it more difficult for migrants to enter the US, and the holding of minors in miserable conditions that the UN has decried as “appalling”.

All the while, Mr Trump has stepped up his rhetoric on immigration, part of a calculated strategy he believes will help him win reelection in 2020.

Inside California's largest detention centre Show all 9 1 /9 Inside California's largest detention centre Inside California's largest detention centre Backs turned: Adelanto faces complaints that it does not allow inmates sufficent visits Reuters Inside California's largest detention centre Barbed issue: the facility is the focus of protests by immigrant rights groups Reuters Inside California's largest detention centre ‘Aliens’: ICE agents are empowered to round up suspected illegal immigrants Reuters Inside California's largest detention centre World class: the facility is run by private operator The Geo Group Reuters Inside California's largest detention centre Limbo: people have gone on hunger strike to protest prolonged imprisonment Reuters Inside California's largest detention centre Colours: inmates wearing blue have no or minor criminal conviction – the rest wear orange or red Reuters Inside California's largest detention centre Domino effect: according to ICE, arresting ‘criminal aliens’ is a priority that predates Trump’s presidency Reuters Inside California's largest detention centre Uncertainty: Around 240 of the detainees at Adelanto are women Reuters Inside California's largest detention centre An ICE detainee rests his hands on the window of his cell in the segregation wing at the Adelanto immigration detention center, which is run by the Geo Group Inc (GEO.N), in Adelanto, California, Reuters

“As people of faith, we lose our credibility if we don’t speak out about what our government is dong,” Kelsie Herbert, a spokesperson for Faith in Public Life, one of the group’s involved in the protest, told The Independent.

She added: “Children are sacred. Jesus very clearly said we had to take care of children. When our government is treating children in the way it is, the faith community has to speak up.”

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The group said several Catholic bishops had sent statements of support for the civil disobedience action.

Roll Call, which first reported on the protests and arrests on Thursday, quoted Eva Malecki, a Capitol Police spokeswoman, saying the people were arrested for “unlawfully demonstrating in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building”.

“All were charged with DC code §22-1307, crowding, obstructing, or incommoding,” she said.