- More than one thousand women from all over the US marched in the streets and occupied the Hart Senate Office Building on Thursday.
- They were protesting the Trump administration's immigration policies and calling for the abolition of Immigration Customs and Enforcement.
- At least 575 women were arrested, according to Capitol police.
More than one thousand demonstrators from 47 states descended on Washington, DC, for a peaceful protest and sit-in over a "zero tolerance" immigration policy the Trump administration has touted in recent weeks. That police had led to the separation of thousands of children from their parents before the Trump administration halted the separations in late June.
Hundreds of children remain separated from their parents in shelters throughout the US.
The protesters occupied the Hart Senate Office Building on Thursday while wearing foil blankets that resembled those worn by children being held in detention facilities on the US-Mexico border. During their sit-in they called for the reunification of families and the dissolution of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
Several prominent members of Congress, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts joined in solidarity with the protesters.
In all, Capitol police arrested at least 575 women for the misdemeanor offense of unlawfully demonstrating in the Capitol. Two of those arrested included actress Susan Sarandon and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who serves the 7th Congressional District of Washington state.
These incredible photos that show the size and impact of the event:
The protesters first marched from the Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC, to Capitol Hill. The march and civil disobedience in the Capitol was organized by the Women's March, the Center for Popular Democracy, and CASA in Action
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Source: Vox
Protesters held colorful signs calling for an end to family separations, reunification of families, and the dissolution of ICE
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Source: Vox
One woman held up a powerful photo and sign of her grandmother, a Holocaust survivor. Many have compared the family separation to various forms of concentration camps throughout history
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Actor George Takei, who lived in a Japanese internment camp at age 5, wrote an op-ed in Foreign Policy in which he drew comparisons to Japanese internment camps and the Trump administration's now-defunct practice of causing the separation of children from their parents as a consequence of crossing the US border illegally.
"At least during the internment, when I was just 5 years old, I was not taken from my parents," Takei wrote.
Source: Foreign Policy
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- One asylum-seeker was warned his son could be taken from him at the border — but he crossed anyway, because Honduras was too dangerous for them to stay
- 'I'm just thankful to be here in America': An asylum-seeker speaks out about narrowly escaping getting separated from his son
- A distraught immigrant boy nearly jumped out a window after being separated from his family, lawsuit says
from Feedburner https://ift.tt/2Ncaavp
No comments:
Post a Comment