Activists disrupted Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night amid growing outcry over the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy.
The D.C. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America shared video on Facebook of activists booing and yelling at Nielsen and calling on her to “abolish” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“We’re in downtown DC disrupting DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s dinner at MXDC,” the group wrote in the post. “The irony isn’t lost on us that this is a Mexican restaurant.”
The group repeatedly yelled “shame” at Nielsen and “End Texas concentration camps.”
A Slate journalist shared a video of Nielsen leaving the restaurant after apparently being driven out by the chanting group.
Nielsen and her agency have been intensely criticized over the zero tolerance policy to prosecute more people crossing the border illegally, which has led to thousands of children being separated from their families.
{mosads}Nielsen has offered conflicting explanations for the situation, first saying that family separation was not the agency’s policy, then defending the practice and wrongly claiming that “Congress alone” can fix the policy.
Several Democratic lawmakers have called for Nielsen’s resignation as the criticism intensifies.
President Trump defended Nielsen on Twitter Tuesday night, saying she did a “fabulous job” fielding questions on the topic, despite reports of a tumultuous relationship between the two in the past.
Tyler Houlton, a spokesman for the agency, addressed the incident in a tweet.
“While having a work dinner tonight, the Secretary and her staff heard from a small group of protestors who share her concern with our current immigration laws that have created a crisis on our southern border,” Houlton tweeted. “Secretary Nielsen encourages all — including this group — who want to see an immigration system that works, contributes to our economy, protects our security, & reflects our values reach out to Members & seek their support to close immigration loopholes that made our system a mess.”