Two members of a white supremacist group hung a banner decrying the "Dreamer" movement outside the American Immigration Lawyers Association office in Washington, D.C., Saturday.
Surveillance video shows two men hanging a large banner outside the office on G Street NW in broad daylight. A Twitter post from the group Identity Evropa said its members "paid a visit" to the building, showing a photo of the sign, which read, "We Are Your Dreamers No Amnesty Identity Evropa."
"They stood in the windowsills and they put a sign up over the doorway," said Kenneth Thomas, who witnessed the men hanging the banner.
Identity Evropa is a white supremacist group "focused on the preservation of 'white American culture' and promoting white European identity," according to the Anti-Defamation League.
"There was a gentleman across the street who hollered at them who said, you know, 'Nazi, nazi, fascist,' whatever," Thomas said.
The two men then ran away.
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News4 spoke by phone with the witness who yelled at the men. He did not want to be identified but said the incident shocked and angered him.
"It's a scary time right now. I think that they might have the expectation that they're not going to face any consequences," he told News4.
D.C. police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.
Ben Johnson, the executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the organization is saddened but undeterred by the banner.
"It's important work that's, you know, the constitution commands us to do and we're not gonna give up on doing that. We've got a long, proud history as a nation of immigrants and we're proud to be part of that," Johnson said.
"Dreamers" is a reference to the "Dream Act," legislation that would have provided a path to legal U.S. citizenship for young immigrants brought to the country as children. It failed to pass under the Obama administration, but recipients of the similar Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, are often referred to as "Dreamers."
DACA offers deportation protections to young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas.
President Donald Trump announced in September that he is ending the DACA program and gave Congress six months to act. While some lawmakers hope for a legislative solution to extend deportation protections, Trump said his immigration priorities, such as the border wall, must be enacted in exchange.
