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Culture > News

Hundreds of ‘Families Belong Together’ Protests Sparked Across The US Against Trump’s Immigrant Family Separations

Carissa Dunlap

Thousands of people took to the streets on Thursday to rally against the Trump administrations “zero tolerance” policy on immigration. Specifically, Trump’s newly established practice of separating families seeking asylum on Mexico-US border.

According to CNN, the organization Families Belong Together or Familias Unidas No Divididas organized the protests all across cities in the US, including Washington DC, California, Florida, Massachusetts, and Texas.

“We oppose the cruel, inhumane and unjustified separation of children from their families along the US border and other points of entry,” the organization says in their promotion of the rallies.

Vox reports that the protests are aimed to show that many Americans do not approve of the inhumane immigration policies the government has pushed in the last few months. It is also looking to pressure on the administration and Congress to stop separating families.

The Trump administration has announced the “zero-tolerance” policy of prosecuting anyone who enters the US illegally, even if they are seeking asylum. Parents prosecuted for illegal entry are separated from their children. The parents are sent to into criminal custody under the Department of Justice, and children are not able to remain with their parents, while they’re in jail. Many of the children are sent to the Office of Refugee Resettlement and are held in facilities like a converted Walmart, which one journalist on Wednesday was allowed to tour.

The new policy has sparked a ton of outrage in recent weeks. According to Huffington Post, this week Democratic lawmakers and activists protest in front of the Customs and Border Protection offices in Washington DC.

Here are some of the powerful images from protests across the country:

While the impact of these protests remains to be seen, it’s a guarantee that these concerned citizens won’t be going away any time soon.

Carissa Dunlap is a Her Campus News X Social Intern for Summer 2018. She is a current Publishing major and Journalism minor at Emerson College (Class of 2020). When she isn't perusing the YA bookshelf at the bookstore, she can be found watching dog videos on Facebook, at her favorite coffee shops, or relaxing on the beach. Follow her on Instagram @dunlapcarissa or Twitter @Caridunlap.