Ted Cruz Surrounded by Angry Crowd Chanting ‘FREE THE CHILDREN!’ at LAX

 

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was surrounded by an angry crowd protesting his support of President Donald Trump’s migrant detention centers while waiting inside Los Angeles International airport on Sunday.

After several passersby recognized Cruz and began pointing out the lawmaker, several people shouted various phrases to display their displeasure for the Republican’s immigration policies. “Americans will not be silenced!” one man right next to Cruz began shouting, before initiating a chant calling for the freedom of migrant children detained in Customs and Border Protection’s processing facilities.

Chants of “Free the children! Free the children!” rang throughout the LAX hallways for some time, all while Cruz tried to casually play off the protest by looking down or away from the crowd. He also tried to take a picture with a fan amid the chants, but even the senator’s photo opportunity was protested as a woman jumped in-between the fan and cameraman.

It appears that Cruz was escorted away from the crowd by his staff shortly after the failed photo op.

Earlier this month, Cruz visited the largest immigration processing center near the U.S.-Mexico border and gave a press conference condemning his congressional colleagues for allowing migration “loopholes” that he claims encourage “far too many people to make the arduous journey” across the border. He also justified the creation of such facilities under the Obama administration, saying, “It was built because we saw then a flood of unaccompanied children coming in, that flood has gotten worse.”

Watch the protest above, via Twitter.

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Caleb Ecarma was a reporter at Mediaite. Email him here: caleb@mediaite.com Follow him on Twitter here: @calebecarma