As former Vice President Joe Biden prepared his closing statement at the Nevada Democratic primary debate on Wednesday night, protestors began to yell “You deported 3 million people.”
The crowed booed as protested continued to yell, and Biden began speaking again once they left the room.
The undetermined number of protestors seem to be referring to to Biden’s role in the Obama administration, which deported over 3 million people.
The immigrant rights organization the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES Action, took credit for the protest on social media.
“BREAKING: We are interrupting @JoeBiden at the #DemDebate chanting #DontLookAway and #NoKidsInCages. We need a Democratic candidate to adopt the #MigrantJusticePlatform and commit themselves to improve the lives of migrants and refugees!” they tweeted.
In a video posted by RAICES Action on Twitter, protests can be heard saying “We don’t want you. We want the Migrant Justice Platform.”
On social media, RAICES Action linked to the Migrant Justice Platform, an immigration reform proposal agreed upon by a number of nonprofits. The platform includes a pledge to “to halt all deportations.”
“This entire #DemDebate only had one question on the issue of immigration. it is @realDonaldTrump‘s number one issue,” the group added in a follow-up tweet.
RAICES’s Chief of Advocacy Erika Andiola tweeted a video of the protest, saying that she and RAICE’s Communications Manager Lucia Allain took part in it.
“VIDEO of the disruption that @LuciaAllain1 & I did at tonight’s #DemDebate,” she wrote. “It’s unacceptable that almost NO time was given to immigration. We must demand that the Dem Party & every candidate prioritize this critical issue. Our community needs the #MigrantJusticePlatform now!”
