'Shame!': DHS Head Kirstjen Nielsen Booed At Mexican Restaurant

WASHINGTON, DC — Kirstjen Nielsen was just trying to have a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday night. But protesters unhappy with the Trump administration's border separation policy were having none of it.

Video reviewed by Patch that was posted on social media showed demonstrators march into the restaurant and jeer the U.S. secretary of homeland security as she sat with a man in the corner of the establishment.

Among the chants the protesters shouted: “If kids don’t eat in peace, you don’t eat in peace;” "Shame! Shame! Shame!"; and "Not in D.C., not in the U.S."

The protest happened at MXDC Cocina Mexicana near 15th Street NW and and F Street NW.

DHS Secretary Nielsen just got driven out of a Mexican restaurant here on 14th Street by activists. DSA, I believe. pic.twitter.com/lTKutryXBO
— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) June 20, 2018

One protester yelled at Nielsen — who kept her head down the entire time — to end family separation and abolish the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Another noted the juxtaposition of Nielsen eating at a Mexican restaurant "of all places."

Tensions are coming to a boil over the Trump administration’s zero tolerance immigration policy, in which kids are separated from their parents following unlawful border crossings. Nielsen is tasked with carrying out President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce immigration.

See also: Family Separations At The Border: 5 Things To Know

A DHS spokesman tweeted Nielsen had been having a “work dinner.”

"While having a work dinner tonight, the Secretary and her staff heard from a small group of protestors who share her concern with our current immigration laws that have created a crisis on our southern border," wrote spokesman Tyler Q. Houlton‏.

Nielsen encourages everyone to reach out to lawmakers and seek their support in order to close immigration loopholes, said Houlton.

Nielsen tweeted Tuesday night that she will continue to work to fix the "broken" immigration system, ensure U.S. borders are "secure" and families can remain whole.

Photo credit: Susan Walsh/Associated Press