SAN ANTONIO -- More than a dozen UTSA students are under arrest for trespassing at Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's district office during a protest in support of the Dream Act.
The magistrate's office had custody of the 16 protesters Tuesday morning. They were booked for criminal trespassing.
They stuck like glue to her office, and they would have stayed there until police took them away. The group included an ex-city council member, a professor and students. They want the senator to support the Dream Act, which paves the way to citizenship for undocumented students.
Police got a call around 7 p.m. Monday to the 3100 block of Gen. Hudnell Drive when the demonstrators refused to leave the office. The staff told the group to leave, but when they refused, police came to the scene.
Cops first arrested the group of ten that formed a human chain in the hallway, and then made their way to the senator's office, where six protesters were engaged in a sit-in.
"These students made a major sacrifice," protester Joel Settles said. "They started the hunger strike 21 days ago."
The senator's office said, in a statement, that she "appreciates these students’ passion for their cause but hopes they can find safer and more peaceful ways to voice their opinions. The Senator and her staff have met with people in Texas and Washington, D.C., on the DREAM Act and she has stated her concerns with the present version of the legislation.
Police said it ended peacefully. The group is expected to bond out this morning, and supporters will be waiting outside.
