Mothers, children, and advocates walked out on a DHS budget hearing featuring Kirstjen Nielsen yesterday, in a silent protest against the Trump Administration’s decision to separate children from parents at the border.
This week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a policy where migrants coming to the border — even women and children fleeing for their lives and seeking asylum — will be prosecuted, with parents being separated from their children. This is an attempt at deterrence from the Trump Administration, despite statements from advocates pointing out the policy’s cruelty and warnings that this would make it harder for migrants to obtain asylum.
As Michelle Brané, director of the migrant rights and justice program at the Women’s Refugee Commission, said in two statements:
Our government, the United States of America, is separating families who are coming to our borders seeking protection, and when I say that I mean literally ripping children out of their parents’ arms because they’ve come here asking for help…
To be punishing these parents for wanting to do that and punishing these children who have no say in the matter is outrageous to me.
Yesterday’s walkout was organized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), MomsRising, the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), We Belong Together (WBT), the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), and KIND.
View tweets and photos from yesterday’s walk-out action below:
