Dreamers interrupt Rick Perry, Chris Christie at Iowa summit

A group of Dreamers interrupted two Republicans eyeing a presidential run while they spoke Saturday at the Iowa Freedom Summit, an event hosted by immigration hardliner Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) in Des Moines, Iowa.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry was the first one to get interrupted at the event that included a lineup of several GOP presidential hopefuls.

“If Washington refuses to secure the border, Texas will. This problem has dragged on long enough,” Perry said right before a half-dozen Dreamers interrupted him, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Perry’s comments triggered the group of Dreamers to stand up from the balcony and hold up sings that read “Deportable?” They were referring to a comment King made last week about Ana Zamora, an undocumented college student from Dallas who was invited to sit with First Lady Michelle Obama at the State of the Union address last Tuesday night.

SEE ALSO: Steve King criticizes Obama for inviting ‘a deportable’ to SOTU

A total of 13 Dreamers were escorted out of the summit and two were arrested, according to the Dream Action Coalition. The Dreamers arrested were later released.

Marco Malagon, a Dreamer from Texas and the co-founder of the Texas Dream Team, was one of the two Dreamers who were arrested. He shouted to Perry: “Governor, do you stand with King, or do you stand with us and our families? Do you think I’m deportable?”

The Dallas Morning News reported that Perry ignored the Dreamers and kept speaking. And after his speech, he embraced King.

Cesar Vargas, a Dreamer from New York and the co-director of the Dream Action Coalition, was the other Dreamer arrested after he interrupted New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s speech.

“Immigration continues to be a central issue for GOP hopefuls who have their eyes on the White House,” Vargas said in a statement. “Events like the Freedom Summit further illustrate how out of touch the Republican Party is with the growing Latino and immigrant population in the United States.

He added, “Do they really want to deport me and my mother?”

This comes as Republicans push forward with their plan to do everything they can do roll back President Barack Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration. Earlier this month, they voted to block funding for the president’s actions, which would shield up to 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation.

SEE ALSO: GOP responses to State of the Union differ on immigration

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