More than one hundred women protesting in favor of comprehensive immigration reform were arrested by the Capitol this morning. They sat in the middle of Independence Avenue and blocked traffic at an intersection in order “to call attention to the need for immigration reform that treats women fairly,” according to Andrea Mercado, the campaign director for National Domestic Workers Alliance. She said her group hopes the protesters will be released today. Per the Washington Times, more than 20 of the women arrested are in the country illegally.

A number of groups supported the event, including We Belong Together and NOW. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.) joined a press conference held before the arrests. Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink, who famously heckled President Obama during his major counterterrorism address in May, also attended, though she wasn’t one of the protesters arrested. Protesters supporting the arrestees chanted a number of slogans, including “Si se puede.”

Some of the women being arrested at the event:

More photos after the jump.