Residents voice concerns about immigration, health care at town hall meeting in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Tensions flared at a passionate town hall meeting held by Rep. Alan Lowenthal in Long Beach Monday night.

About 1,000 people within the 47th District packed an auditorium at Long Beach City College for the "Conversation About America" town hall held by the Democratic congressman. Most attendees were on the same political page, but conservatives were also in the crowd.

"We need a leader to bring us together, not to divide us," Lowenthal said.

Topics discussed at the meeting ranged from the environment to immigration to health care. But some remarks made during the discussion received boos from the crowd.

One resident asked that veterans' health care be included in discussions about insurance, while another said senior citizens need the most help.

A Trump supporter spoke during the meeting and said a "big beautiful wall" needed to be built to secure the country's borders.

Other commenters pulled on attendees heartstrings, including a question from a 13-year-old who spoke on the topic of immigration.

"The day after Election Day, I came to school and saw lots of kids crying and scared that their families would be deported. What can we and what are we doing to prevent families from being torn apart?" the boy asked.

Lowenthal said his constituents and the rest of the country are paying more attention now than ever before.

"Everybody is paying attention now. Everybody is watching. Everybody is concerned with how these changes are going to happen because they see things unfolding before their eyes and they want to know what their representative is doing and they want to know what they can do," he said.

This was the congressman's first large-scale town hall meeting of the year. Many people who attended told Eyewitness News it was an overall positive experience.

If you were not able to attend Monday's event, here's how you can contact your congressman to submit your comments and questions: