Six Protesters Arrested at Texas Migrant Children's Detention Center
HOUSTON, Texas — Police arrested six protesters at a migrant children’s detention center Tuesday. This is the second protest at the center in less than a month.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Southwest Key Juvenile Detention Center near downtown Houston on Monday evening. Houston police arrested six demonstrators for allegedly blocking traffic by sitting on a public street, Fox26 Houston’s Randy Wallace reported. A similar protest on July 21 drew about 150 protesters.
Seven protesters took to the street in front of the facility and blocked the driveway, Wallace reported. The driveway remained blocked for nearly two hours. The protesters eventually moved to the street and allegedly blocked traffic, prompting action from police.
One of the arrested protesters is reportedly failed state representative candidate Lisa Seger. Seger, a Waller, Texas, resident, ran for State Representative District 3 in the 2018 election and lost to incumbent Cecil Bell (R-Magnolia). She drew less than 25 percent of the vote in the November general election.
Protesters tweeted in celebration of her arrest. “Just wanted to let you know that Lisa and her MOT (Move On Texas) brothers and sisters were just arrested by HPD for shutting down an ICE baby jail in Houston,” Blue Heron Farm (@BlueHeronFarmTX) tweeted. “So proud of her.”
Hey Folks, Mr. Farm here. Just wanted to let you know that LIsa and her MOT brothers and sisters were just arrested by HPD for shutting down an ICE baby jail in Houston. So proud of her. https://t.co/e2EQ7DKnAI
— Blue Heron Farm (@BlueHeronFarmTX) August 13, 2019
A tweet from Adam J. Williams (@AdamWillyums) identified Seger as the “Lisa” mentioned above. “Lisa Seger has been arrested for protesting the operation of an ICE detention center in Houston,” Williams wrote. The facility being protested is not an ICE facility, but rather a facility operated for the Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to a response from ICE obtained by Breitbart Texas on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the group told Fox26 their people intentionally placed themselves in the street to force police to arrest them. They wanted to prove a point, Wallace reported. Police charged the protesters with impeding traffic.
Breitbart Texas reached out to the Houston Police Department for additional information about the arrests. An immediate response was not available.