WASHINGTON (AP) — Police say they have arrested 112 people for blocking traffic outside the White House during a rally called to protest U.S. policies on deporting migrants in the country illegally.

Immigration activists and religious leaders urged President Barack Obama to immediately halt deportations during Thursday’s protest. The demonstrators also called on Obama to extend relief for migrants by decree and to protect Central American children crossing into the U.S. unaccompanied by adults.

Bishop Minerva Carcano of the United Methodist Church in Los Angeles says such protests are needed to, in her words, “raise a moral voice, because you do not hear from either Congress or the White House.”

The protest took place as Republican leaders withdrew legislation aimed at the immigration crisis from consideration in the U.S. House.

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