Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of the frontrunners for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, joined a protest in front of a migrant detention center Wednesday morning—hours before she was expected to join nine other members of her party for the first primary debate.
"There are a lot of different ways that we get in the fight," Warren said to supporters on social media. "And one of them is that you show up."
There are a lot of different ways that we get in the fight. And one of them is that you show up. I'm at the Homeste… https://t.co/PldmyYT5A8— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1561561062.0
Warren's appearance at the Homestead Detention Center was prompted by a question during a town hall the night before from an audience member who asked the Massachusetts senator if she would join a protest at the facility. Homestead holds the nation's largest child migrant population.
The senator said she would and brought supporters and the media with her on the visit.
Yesterday at my town hall in Miami, I got asked an important question: Would I go to the Homestead detention center… https://t.co/Zp7f8v45rX— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1561555768.0
The visit was pre-planned, according to The Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel.
"We have to shut down that facility and shut it down now," Warren told the town hall to applause.
"We have to shut down that facility and shut it down now," Warren says. Cheers of "shut it down!" break out.— Dave Weigel (@Dave Weigel) 1561507609.0
Warren stood on a ladder to ensure she was seen above a fence keeping most of the children out of view.
In comments to the crowd, Warren said the detention centers were "a stain on our country."
.@ewarren outside the Homestead detention center: “It is a stain on our country.” https://t.co/xfNYOdomte— Elizabeth Landers (@Elizabeth Landers) 1561565340.0
The visit is just the latest move by a high-profile Democrat to express solidarity with the victims of President Donald Trump's aggressive anti-immigration policies, which have resulted in overflowing detention centers with horrific conditions for children. On June 22, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), one of Warren's rivals for the nomination, sent an email blast detailing civil rights to supporters in and around major cities which were expected to be targeted by immigration raids.
