protestors across the United States and some globally
Protests against the Trump administration family separation policy are a reaction to theTrump administration policy of separating children from their parents or guardians who crossed the U.S. border either illegally or to request asylum, jailing the adults and locating the minors at separate facilities under the care of theDepartment of Health and Human Services.
Stop Separating Immigrant Families Press Conference and Rally,Chicago. (June 5, 2018)ProPublica recording of crying children separated from their families.
TheTrump Administration started a "zero tolerance" policy on May 7, 2018, under which any person crossing theUnited States border may be charged with a federalmisdemeanor.[3] Attorney General,Jeff Sessions, announced that policy.[4] During remarks made on May 7 inScottsdale, Arizona, he said, "If you are smuggling a child then we will prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you as required by law."[5] However, immigration rights activists have reported that children accompanying adults have been verified to be members of families, not part of achild trafficking scheme as suggested by Sessions.[6]
Because minors cannot be jailed under a 2016 ruling byC.D. Cal. JudgeDolly M. Gee regarding the 1997Reno v. Flores settlement, they are separated from their families.[3] Minors are housed indetention centers that can be made up oftents or other makeshift facilities.[7][8] Illegal border crossing is a crime in the United States.[9] However, migrants attempting to apply forasylum in the United States are also being denied entry.[9] In addition, immigration activists allege that parents are not being reunited with their children after their parents' sentences in detention are finished.[10] Sessions also announced that the United States would no longer accept asylum applications for migrants who are victims ofdomestic abuse organg violence.[11]
The photograph was taken by professional photographer John Moore just after the mother was asked to set her child down to be body-searched before boarding the Border Patrol van and as the little girl began to cry. The mother is fromHonduras and had been traveling for a month.[14]
The photograph has raised controversy after the father of the child said in an interview that the mother and daughter were now being detained together in McAllen, Texas. This has caused many in Trump's administration to rally against "fake news;"White House Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders tweeted that the Democrats and media "exploited this photo of a little girl to push their own agenda."[15]
APortland, Oregon filmmaker, Linda Freeman, produced the videoUnaccompanied: Alone in America[16], in which children re-enact court transcripts of proceedings in which migrant children who have to represent themselves in immigration trials.[17] While this policy of children being unrepresented in court can be seen in 2005, the video is part of a fundraiser to provide legal counsel, services, and efforts to reunify children with their families.
In response to the family separation policy many celebrities, such asChrissy Teigen and husbandJohn Legend, donated to theACLU in response to the "...cruel, anti-family..." actions, that "...go against everything we believe this country should represent.[18] Others, such asJimmy Fallon, have also donated to the Texas-based charityRefugee and Immigration Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), at times in Trump's name, to protest the actions and policies of the Trump Administration.[19]
On June 1, "pop up protests" were planned in around sixteen states on a national day of action.[6] Hundreds protested the new policy, inAtlanta,New York City,Santa Monica, andWashington, D.C., on June 1.[23] InHouston, protestors gathered outside the City Hall to demonstrate.[10] InConcord, demonstrators gathered in front of the federal building.[24] There were around fifty people protesting outside the federal building inSan Diego.[6] The protest inMemphis was organized in part by an attorney, Starkey Hahn.[25] A protest took place inAustin at Republic Square Park in the afternoon.[26] More than 100 people demonstrated outside the Immigration Services federal building inLos Angeles.[27] Around 100 people demonstrated outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office inPhiladelphia.[28] InYork County, Pennsylvania, people demonstrated outside the York County Detention Center on June 2, 2018.[29]
Protesters demonstrated atLaGuardia Airport on the evening of June 20.[40] There were around 200 protestors there to see unaccompanied immigrant minors being taken to New York.[40]
On July 4, 2018, a female member of the groupRise and Resist,Therese Patricia Okoumou, climbed the base of theStatue of Liberty to protest the separation of migrant families, and stayed there for nearly three hours.[41] Tourists were evacuated fromLiberty Island whileNew York City Police Officers responded to the scene, climbing 100 ft (30 m) to reach her. Okoumou was charged with trespassing, interference with government agency functions, and disorderly conduct in a Manhattan Court on July 5.[42] US AttorneyGeoffrey Berman released a statement that Okoumou "staged a dangerous stunt that alarmed the public and endangered her own life and the lives of the NYPD officers who responded...".[43]
Her actions were separate from an earlier protest byRise and Resist that same day in which protesters unveiled an "Abolish ICE" banner on the statue's pedestal; seven members of the organization were arrested.[44]
On June 23, 2018, a rally in San Francisco drew more than 500 people.[52] The event was one of a series of preliminary protests before the nationally organizedFamilies Belong Together protests inWashington, D.C.,New York City, and 700 other cities and towns in the United States.[1][2]
^abEdwards, Haley Sweetland (June 14, 2018)."Parents Are Facing a Nightmare at the U.S. Border".Time.Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. RetrievedJune 17, 2018.anyone who crosses the border without authorization is now subject to prosecution for a federal misdemeanor
