More than 500 activists from across the country joined several members of Congress and the actor John Cusack today to risk arrest in protest of the ongoing separation of families. It’s estimated that thousands of immigrant children have been separated from their families after crossing the border.
The activists today started at Freedom Plaza in Washington before marching across the street to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) headquarters, where they are currently demonstrating in an act of civil disobedience that could lead to their arrest. The members of Congress had previously sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security demanding information on the location of children who have been separated.
Earlier in the day, members of Congress and advocates with the Value Our Families coalition held a press conference protesting anti-immigrant bills that the Republican House is expected to vote on later this month. That group is sponsoring advocates from 12 states to come to Washington, D.C. to meet with their members of Congress and urge them to oppose these anti-immigrant bills.
Participating in today’s actions are members of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Church World Service, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), CASA in Action, Network, Center for Popular Democracy Action, MH Action, NOW, Workers Defense, Feminist Majority, as well as Reps. Joe Crowley (D-NY), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Judy Chu (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), and Al Green (D-TX).
View photos and tweets from the events today, below:
