Activists arrested outside Royce’s office

Six immigration activists were arrested for protesting outside of Rep. Ed Royce’s (R-Calif.) district office late Friday after they stopped traffic in the middle of a busy street near Los Angeles, according to reports. 

The protest, organized by the Service Employees International Union, was one of dozens held around the country Friday to mark the one-year anniversary of the Senate passing a sweeping immigration bill, which would pave the way for 11 million illegal immigrants to stay in the country. But House Republicans have refused to take up similar legislation, angering many immigration activists. 

{mosads}In Washington, immigration activists also occupied House offices, The Hill reports.

Royce, a Republican in a district where more than half of his constituents are Latino or Asian, has been the target of repeated immigration protests, sit-ins, and fasts, according to the Orange County Register. 

On Friday, many of the protesters arrived on buses from outside the district.

“The bulk of the protestors were not Rep. Royce’s constituents and arrived on Chula Vista Tour buses organized by the SEIU. Our staff invited the small number of constituents among the group to sit down and further discuss their concerns on their next visit,” Royce’s spokesperson Saat Alety told the OC Register.

“Rep. Royce has and will continue to meet with constituents that want to have a constructive debate on the immigration issue. Unfortunately, the group today appeared more interested in noise and preplanned arrests meant to garner headlines than actually sitting down to discuss the issue,” Alety added.