NEW ORLEANS – Multiple people protesting the country’s current immigration policies were handcuffed and detained by police this morning as Attorney General Jeff Sessions addressed the National Sheriffs’ Association.
The protesters lined up outside the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center held signs and chanted “no Sessions, no KKK, no fascist USA” in the drizzling rain.
Police could be seen detaining several protesters and leading them inside the building for processing.
It is not yet clear what charges may be brought against the protesters or if they have been arrested.
Inside the Convention Center, Congressman Steve Scalise addressed the assembled law enforcement personnel as the conference got underway.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen followed Scalise to the podium, offering a hearty defense of the current practice of separating families caught trying to illegally cross the US border with Mexico.
Sessions echoed Nielsen’s statements, saying that word has spread among immigrants of a “loophole” that offered amnesty to those crossing the border with children.
This “loophole,” lead to a massive increase in families making the crossing, Sessions, said.
He also spoke at length about recidivism and the effectiveness of minimum sentencing requirements, which Sessions said lead directly to a decrease in crime.
