“We’re taking the necessary steps to make it clear to President Trump, the Republicans and the Democrats that we will continue this peaceful fight for DREAMers and immigrants as long as it takes to enact legislation and put DREAMers in a safe place,” Rep. Luis Gutierrez said in a statement. | Scott Olson/Getty Images Democratic lawmakers arrested for protesting outside Trump Tower

Three Democratic lawmakers were arrested Tuesday outside Trump Tower in Manhattan, where they were protesting President Donald Trump’s decision to halt a program that extends work permits to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

A spokesman for Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) confirmed that the Chicago lawmaker had been arrested amid an act of “civil disobedience,” and that he was joined in that act by Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and Melissa Mark Viverito, the speaker of New York’s city council.


A spokeswoman for Espaillat, the first member of Congress to have previously been an undocumented immigrant, confirmed that the New York lawmaker had been among those arrested as well. Photos circulating online appeared to show Grijalva being arrested as well, although a spokeswoman for the Tucson, Arizona, lawmaker did not immediately return an email seeking confirmation that he had been.

“We’re taking the necessary steps to make it clear to President Trump, the Republicans and the Democrats that we will continue this peaceful fight for DREAMers and immigrants as long as it takes to enact legislation and put DREAMers in a safe place,” Gutierrez said in a statement issued via his spokesman. “A few Congressmen and elected-officials gathering in front of Trump Tower doesn’t mean much if it is not backed up by the grassroots and allies and today we are standing with diverse allies to make sure Congress and the president do more than just talk about solutions, they actually follow through with action.”

“Espaillat stood up for immigrant youth to say loud and clear – unequivocally, that he dedicates his work in Congress to protecting immigrants, immigrant families, and their future in America,” Espaillat’s spokeswoman, Candace Randle Person, said in a statement. “Since day one, the Trump Administration has threatened Latinos, Muslims, LGBT, women and the list continues. His decision to end the DACA program earlier this month increased the urgency of what’s at stake and the lives at risk when we fail to speak out against racism in America.”

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trump’s decision earlier this month to rescind DACA, the Obama-era program that offered protections to so-called Dreamers, prompted an immediate outcry from Democrats and defenders of undocumented immigrants. The president’s decision, announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, comes with a six-month delay, a window in which Trump has indicated he would like Congress to act to permanently protect Dreamers.

While the move to rescind DACA sparked ire towards the Trump administration, the White House has characterized the decision as compassionate, arguing that DACA was likely to be found unconstitutional and a court could have ended it without the six-month window left open by the president. Trump has also suggested that should Congress fail to act, he would “revisit this issue.”