A group of protesters which took part in the ongoing demonstrations outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington set an American flag on fire.
At least three people were seen outside the center attempting to burn the flag using lighters and an accelerant, most probably gasoline. However, the flames were quickly put out by other protesters outside the center where undocumented migrant children are held as part of the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy on immigration, Newsweek writes.
“We are here to move past this and be progressive,” a woman with a megaphone told the crowd. “We’re not here to burn flags.”
Tacoma has often been the ground for protests against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, but lately, the number of demonstrations has increased due to the separation of more than 2,000 children from their families.
Activists began setting camping in front of the facility on Saturday, but the tents were ordered to be removed by Thursday evening. The order was issued after 10 people were arrested as a result of disorder during a demonstration involving around 160 protesters outside the center on Tuesday.
According to Tacoma police spokeswoman Loretta Cool, protesters blocked the road leading to the facility and one person even jumped on a police car. At least two people will face charges of assaulting a police officer.
Some demonstrators claim the disorder only broke out after the police got involved. “We haven’t even so much as tried to block a bus,” added a protester. “We’ve been peaceful and the violence did not occur until the police came and I think they were trying to stop this movement.”
Meanwhile, the administration’s immigration policy also resulted in minor migrant children separated from their parents to be forced to appear in court for their own deportation proceedings.
“We were representing a three-year-old in court recently who had been separated from the parents. And the child — in the middle of the hearing — started climbing up on the table. It really highlighted the absurdity of what we’re doing with these kids,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of Immigrant Defenders Law Center in Los Angeles.
Attorneys in Texas, California and Washington, DC have called on the Trump administration to speed up the process of reuniting families.
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