Protesters arrested at Congressional office (Superior Telegram)

Protesters arrested at Congressional office

By: Chuck Quirmbach, Wisconsin Public Radio, Superior Telegram
Published November 30 2010

RACINE -- Three people were arrested at the Racine office of Congressman Paul Ryan on Monday night. It was part of a non-violent protest in favor of a bill to help some undocumented immigrants get into college or the U.S. military.

The DREAM Act would help undocumented people who entered the United States before the age of 16, have been in the U.S. for at least five consecutive years, and meet other requirements.

A Racine teacher and two members of the immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera were arrested for trespassing at the Racine office of Representative Paul Ryan, when they refused to leave a late afternoon protest aimed at getting Ryan to support the DREAM Act as it possibly nears a vote.

Voces executive director Christine Neumann-Ortiz was one of those arrested. Before the event, she said the time for civil disobedience has come.

Congressman Ryan released a statement to a Racine newspaper saying the DREAM Act should be debated by Congress in a comprehensive fashion that bolsters border security first.