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#DeportBlanca trends after Mexican-born activist accosts Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona

Sinema was followed by several members of the group who slammed her for her opposition to the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better bill

A video posted to Twitter on Sunday, October 3, by social justice group Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) has gone viral. The video shows youth organizers confronting Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema, even following her into a bathroom at one point. This incident followed another incident last week when Joe Manchin was accosted by protesters kayaking outside his houseboat for his opposition to the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better bill.

On the campus of Arizona State University on Sunday, Sinema is a lecturer at school of social work, when she was approached by LUCHA activists with the social-justice group LUCHA Arizona, she replied “Actually, I am heading out” before walking into a bathroom, where she was followed by several members of the group who encouraged her to support the $3.5 trillion version of the infrastructure bill. 

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One activist, who identified herself as Blanca, also told Sinema to help establish a pathway to citizenship for undocumented migrants, describing how her grandparents were deported following a stop made legal by SB-1070, also known as the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, a 2010 legislative Act in Arizona that at the time of passage in 2010 was the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure passed in the United States.

The activist identified as Blanca spoke to Sinema from the entrance to the bathroom. “We need to hold you accountable to what you told us, what you promised us that you were going to pass when we knocked on doors for you,” Blanca said in the video. “It’s not right.”

“I was brought here to the United States when I was three years old and in 2010 my grandparents both got deported because of S.B. 1070 and I'm here because I definitely believe that we need a pathway to citizenship,” Blanca said. “My grandfather passed away two weeks ago and I was not able to go to Mexico and visit him because there is no pathway to citizenship. And if we have the opportunity to pass it right now than we need to do it because there's millions of undocumented people, just like me, who share the same story.”

The activists begged Sinema to support Biden's Build Back Better agenda that would provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. “We need the Build Back Better plan right now,” one activist is heard saying. “I am a survivor of human trafficking and it's because of the lack of work protections that we don't have. I need you to stand by workers…” another shared before the video cut off.

In another video posted to Twitter by LUCHA, the protesters were seen following Sinema as she walked back into her classroom. “We wouldn’t have to resort to confronting @senatorsinema around Phx if she took meetings with the communities that elected her,” the tweet said. “She’s been completely inaccessible. We're sick of the political games, stop playing with our lives.” In the footage, the group stands outside, chanting, “Build back better! Pass the bill!” and “Undocumented! Unafraid!”

Sinema’s communication director declined to comment on the confrontation, telling The Daily Beast, “We are not dignifying this behavior with a response.”

While this was a condemnation of the failure of Democratic lawmakers, conservatives jumped in a different direction following the videos going viral. Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz shared the video on Twitter with a caption reading: “#DeportBlanca.” Following this, the hashtag was used by many to air anti-immigrant ideas. Another tweet said, “America, where an illegal immigrant can accost a senator in a public place and cry about how she’s mistreated and not being properly taken care of by American politicians and taxpayers.”

One tweet said, “What's being allowed to happen to this country is unacceptable. I encourage @SenatorSinema to work with her @GOP colleagues to purge this country of rule breakers, & to reward immigrants who actually follow the law.” Right-wing network NewsMmax’s Steve Cortes tweeted under the hashtag, “How can our Republic survive if we tolerate trespassers who openly live here unlawfully, publicly, and aggressively harass elected officials, and demand even more accommodations for illegal aliens?”