Friday on the floor of the House of Representatives, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) played audio of crying immigrant children who were separated from their families despite being instructed to stop.

Lieu said, “If the Statue of Liberty could cry, she would be crying today. As I stand here, there are 2,300 kids that have been ripped away from their parents by our government and are in detention facilities across America. America was a country founded by people fleeing from persecution. We are a land of immigrants. President Ronald Reagan called us that shining city upon the hill. Unfortunately, Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen have perverted that grand legacy and have engaged in the functional equivalent of kidnapping.”

After his remarks, Lieu played the audio of children in a border detention facility released by Pro Publica.

Speaker pro tempore Rep. Karen Handel (R-GA) objected and repeatedly cited rule 17, which “prohibits the use of an electronic device to make sounds in the chamber.”

Lieu said, “Why are you trying to prevent the American people from listening to what it sounds like in a detention facility? These are babies and kids at a detention facility. Why are you not letting the American people hear what they are saying?”

After several more objections, Lieu yielded the floor.

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN