Hundreds of Immigration Reform Advocates Occupy Immigration Court Building and Streets in Downtown Seattle

Hundreds of immigration reform advocates occupied a building in downtown Seattle today while a group of 40 people risked arrest by blocking access to the elevators of the 43-floor skyscraper and then blocking street traffic at multiple intersections. The demonstrators - including faith leaders, union members, veterans, teachers, lawyers, and community members - demanded that Congress and President Obama work immediately to pass immigration reform this year.

In spite of two hours of blocking the entrance to the building and blocking three different intersections, the Seattle Police did not arrest the protesters. Organizers claimed this as a victory in taking over the streets and the crowd cheered in response to a raucous call by OneAmerica Executive Director Pramila Jayapal to "continue the escalation and civil disobedience, continuing to demand that Obama and Congress pay attention to the human suffering happening to millions across the country."

he Washington Immigration Reform Coalition organized the action which featured a group of individuals that risked arrest including King County Councilman Larry Gossett, OneAmerica's Jayapal, El Centro de la Raza Executive Director Estela Ortega, Casa Latina Executive Director Hilary Stern, President of SEIU Local 6 Sergio Salinas, and Jeff Johnson of the Washington State Labor Council. They took the risk, they said in a unity statement, to show "solidarity with the millions who contribute to our communities and economy while being denied full access to them." President Obama has failed to keep his campaign promise to pass reform in his first year, the statement says, and in turn has created a moral and human rights crisis that betrays American's best values.

"We are proud to have been part of an action that expressed the moral urgency and the sacrifice people are willing to take for this movement," said Jayapal. "We took over a building and three streets but we were too powerful for the police to arrest us. We will use the incredible momentum and energy to build this movement and continue fighting for reform. We will continue to escalate with more civil disobedience and more actions with even more risk until we get Obama and Congress to move forward with comprehensive immigration reform."

The noisy demonstration also aimed to bring attention to an increase in deportations under the Obama Administration, which outpaced deportations from President Bush's last year in office. The building that advocates occupied, 1000 Second Avenue, is the site of the Seattle Immigration Court, Customs and Border Patrol, and an Immigration & Customs Enforcement field office. Under President Obama, offices like this across the country have been deporting 1,000 immigrants every day in our country.

PHOTO GALLERY

Videos from the protest