Illinois Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez was arrested Tuesday afternoon outside of the White House during a rally against current immigration policy.
Gutierrez joined other immigration reform advocates to call attention to one million immigration deportations since President Obama took office.
“The President says Republicans are blocking immigration reform and he’s right, but it doesn’t get him off the hook,” Gutierrez said in a press release. “Everyone knows he has the power to stop deporting DREAMers and others with deep roots in the U.S. and we think he should use it.”
The congressman was arrested around 5 p.m. with ten others and fined $100. He was released around 6 p.m and was able to return to Congress in time to cast a final vote that day, his press secretary told reporters.
According to Gutierrez, Obama could slow the rate of deportations by staying proceedings against parents with children who are citizens, by ending the Secure Communities program, and by ending the E-Verify system used by employers.
The congressman was also arrested at a 2010 immigration protest outside of the White House and was arrested twice in Puerto Rico during protests against the U.S. military’s use of Vieques Island as a bombing range.
Gutierrez lamented in a press release that, “As the White House frequently brags, President Obama has now deported more people than any other president in history.”