Anti-immigrant protests against children fleeing violence like the one in Murrieta, California this month have made headlines. But all over the US, people have also gone extraordinarily out of their way to reach out to, donate to, and help the children. At Buzzfeed yesterday is a powerful compilation of some of the ways people from Texas to California and elsewhere have helped. Read the full piece here or view some excerpts below:
Activists, churches, and ordinary people have also taken to the streets, showing their support for the migrants.
In California, Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaño visited a detention facility in Ventura County in July, where over 500 unaccompanied children are being held.
In Los Angeles, seven young people from the age of 15 to 22 took part in a week-long fast starting July 21 in support of the children.
In early July, members of United We Dream (UWD), a national immigrant rights organization, visited the Sacred Heart migrant shelter in McAllen, Texas.
Actress America Ferrera went to McAllen on July 27 along with Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) president Antonio Tijerino to bring comfort to the children and families.
On July 9, a coalition of immigrant rights and faith-based organizations from Inland Empire region held a vigil outside City Hall in Murrieta, Cal., to collect donations for immigrant families that were transported to southern California from Texas.
Frank Pierson of Oracle, an Arizona town that was set to receive children, admitted frustration with how the Obama administration has communicated during this time, but believes the children should be supported. “The notion of welcoming the stranger actually is a nonnegotiable and it is taught relentlessly by our bishop. Pope Francis has been aggressive and public over and over again,” Pierson said in a video entitled Oracle, Arizona is not Murrieta, California.
