UU World – Unitarian Universalist Association President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt was arrested by Capitol Police on Thursday, January 29, as she protested the Department of Homeland Security budget with leaders from various religious traditions.

Betancourt was arrested at the Hart Senate Office Building, where several hundred people of faith had gathered, and was released about four hours later. Several dozen arrests were made, according to an organizer who was present at the protest.

Capitol Police arrest UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, UUs, and other people of faith during a protest on Thursday, January 29, 2026, in Washington, DC.

Photo: Brandan Robertson/UUA

Betancourt joined religious leaders near the Capitol grounds earlier in the day to advocate against passage of the budget that funds the federal agency overseeing ICE and Customs and Border Patrol actions. The gathering comes after thousands of clergy and laypeople—including hundreds of UUs—arrived last week in Minneapolis for The Day of Truth and Freedom, a nonviolent moral action and march calling for the end of ICE operations in Minnesota where multiple UU clergy were also arrested.

“There is no moral justification for voting for a budget that will put more resources toward the violation and dehumanization of our neighbors,” Betancourt said earlier Thursday, according to a UUA statement. “As religious leaders, we have an ethical obligation to show up and say that this will not be done in our name.”

Betancourt’s full remarks can be read at the UUA’s website on the In Good Faith blog. The full UUA statement is available online.

“Beloveds, it is the ways we show up and partner together so beautifully that allow us to have an impact much greater than might be expected of an institution of our size. Thank you for everything you do to support our congregations and lift UU values in the world. It is a privilege to serve in ministry with all of you.”

— Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt