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Protesters Disrupt House Immigration Markup

CQ Roll Call reporter Joanna Anderson tells us that the House Judiciary Committee’s markup of an immigration enforcement measure was rudely interrupted by pro-immigration protesters this morning.

“The meeting began with roughly 20 protesters standing and chanting, ‘Shame, shame, more of the same,'” Anderson wrote. “Members of the group wore sheets of paper pinned to their shirts bearing the phrase ‘Remember November,’ seemingly a nod to the 2012 presidential election in which President Barack Obama handily won the Hispanic vote.

“The protesters were escorted from the room by committee staff and U.S. Capitol Police but were met with cheers as they filed out into the hallway. And the group could still be heard outside the room saying both ‘Si, se puede’ and the English translation, ‘Yes, we can,’ prompting Judiciary panel Chairman Robert W. Goodlatte, R-Va., to briefly suspend committee activity.

“Goodlatte then made note of another group in the audience wearing graduation caps and gowns — a reference to the DREAMers, young illegal immigrants granted a reprieve from deportation by Obama if they attend college or serve in the U.S. military. The chairman welcomed the group but warned they also would be escorted out of the room if they chose to engage in protest.

“California Democrat Zoe Lofgren, who opposes the Republican bill, later said she supported Goodlatte’s effort to allow the panel’s work to go forward without interruption. But Lofgren, her party’s top lawmaker on the Judiciary Committee’s immigration subpanel, also said, ‘I understand why demonstrators were here this morning. This is very personal.'”

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