New York, February 22 (RHC)-- Activists scaled the Statue of Liberty in New York City and unfurled a red and white "Refugees Welcome" banner on Tuesday, just hours after the Department of Homeland Security unveiled its sweeping plan to deport undocumented immigrants across the U.S. 

The banner, which measured 3 feet by 20 feet in length, was unrolled and dangled from the statue's observation deck, the National Park Service said.  The sign was removed more than an hour later after it surfaced, the Associated Press reported, but not before images spread like wildfire on social media: 

According to news reports, an activist group called Alt Lady Liberty claimed responsibility for the banner.  "Almost all Americans have descendants from somewhere else," the group told reporters.  "Immigrants and refugees make this country great.  And turning away refugees, like we did to Anne Frank, does not make us great." 

Alt Lady Liberty posted images of the banner on its Twitter account, with one caption reading: "The message of the Statue of Liberty is unmistakable."